KNAVES Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

knaves

noun

plural of knave

as in villains

a mean, evil, or unprincipled person he plays the role of the duplicitous knave who tries to foil the play's hero

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of knaves The knights who always told the truth and the knaves who always lied. — Quanta Magazine, 20 Aug. 2026 Try for yourselves, ye witless knaves— Take each to bed your Sally! — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knaves

Noun

At the time of the arrest, many royal observers speculated about Harry and Meghan’s reaction, especially since they had often been portrayed as the family villains.

— Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 25 Aug. 2026
As baseball's new villains, the Dodgers' fate in October will be the most talked about storyline.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.

— Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-skinned developing world.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of brutes

Noun

In 2025, two Tasmanian devils arrived at the Australian Outback exhibit.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 July 2026
Tasmanian devils suffer from Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD), a highly fatal cancer spread by biting, which has devastated their population and surprisingly arose twice.

— John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Definition of devils

Noun

There will be no B-movie monsters wearing terrible prosthetics, no scripts full of non sequiturs, no glitchy graphics.

— Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
The monsters of the original — the Cyclops and the sirens — are replaced by drones that buzz across the stage and models of robotic war machines.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of monsters

Noun

Players command Hawks, a former Republic officer, leading a customizable squad of diverse archetypes, including Jedi and scoundrels.

— Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
And the surviving cartel scoundrels take the parting shot by kidnapping beloved Carter, putting a hood on him and taking the boy off.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 3 July 2026

Definition of scoundrels

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knavery

knaves

knavish

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“Knaves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knaves. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of knaves

noun

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