villain

noun

ˈvi-lən How to pronounce villain (audio)
Definition of villainnext
as in brute
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 villain Even so, as the 2026 season comes to an end, Clark is not taking the route some other athletes in his situation might choose – embracing becoming the villain. — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026 Pedro Pina, YouTube’s vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, used this year’s James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival to challenge the narrative that the platform is a villain in British television’s decline. — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026 The conniving Cardinal Richelieu is the central villain in this 1993 action/comedy adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic 1844 novel. — ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026 There’s no villain or dramatic conflict driving a conflict forward. — Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for villain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villain
  1. brute
  2. monster
  3. criminal
  4. devil
  5. savage
  6. offender
  7. scoundrel
  8. beast
Noun
  • Most sportsmen wonder how any whitetail bucks, let alone a brute such as Kontras’, could have been so easily patterned.
    — Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The show’s depiction of Hugh as a family man has been much more sympathetic than the book’s description of him as a power-hungry brute.
    — James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of brute
Noun
  • Hugh Jackman plays the titular monster hunter, who is sent to destroy Dracula.
    — Kara Nesvig, Parents, 29 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of monster
Noun
  • Throughout the bar are blurbs of information on cases and criminals, researched by Rose and the team.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
  • When criminals are behind bars, their victims should finally be safe from them.
    — Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • In January, Watts was a guest on actor Rainn Wilson’s podcast, where Watts played devil’s advocate to Wilson’s skeptic about casual use of mind-altering substances.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Throughout the movie, two mentors stand over each of his shoulders like an aproned angel and devil.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of devil
Noun
  • Manson and his followers evaded police for months but were eventually arrested and charged in the savage slayings in December 1969.
    — Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 15 Aug. 2026
  • For all its characteristic restraint and formal diligence, Killing Spree is a book that wants to make noise, to cut through the dead air with cries of grief and rage, undoing our own savage torpor.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of savage
Noun
  • At the same hearing, a fifth defendant, Subhan Ahmed, 18, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assisting an offender.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Hisbah members also face widespread allegations of rights abuses in their enforcement operations, including subjecting offenders to dehumanizing punishments such as public beatings or shaming.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of offender
Noun
  • Hawks is the grounding force of Zero Company, the down-to-Earth scoundrel that keeps everyone humble.
    — Hayes Madsen, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • That range runs from scoundrels to astromechs, and a Jedi is on the table too.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of scoundrel
Noun
  • The man wouldn’t sell for fear that the tiger might acquire a taste for his beasts and kill them all.
    — Leslie E. Tassell, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Freaks List staple Nyck Harbor should be a beast at receiver.
    — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of beast

Browse Nearby Words

villages
villain
villainess
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Cite this Entry

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

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