villainy

noun

ˈvi-lə-nē How to pronounce villainy (audio)
Definition of villainynext
as in evil
that which is morally unacceptable psychologists and sociologists have tried to discover the roots of such unspeakable villainy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 villainy While Embo didn’t have much screen time, he can be glimpsed among the scum and villainy in a handful of episodes including Season 2 Episode 17, Season 5 Episode 14 and Season 6 Episode 5. — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2026 Eidinger brings sorely needed spark to these miserable proceedings; his profile of sociopathic villainy is, unfortunately or not, the most electric aspect of the film. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026 But with a sequel to dissect and an audience primed for this kind of analysis, the larger conversation around villainy is worth reviving. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2026 Zahida and Rubina snickered, with a villainy that bordered on hysterical. — Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for villainy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villainy
  1. evil
  2. bad
  3. badness
Noun
  • Conceived as the female counterpart to Superman and Batman, the heroine is an Amazon who fights against injustice and the forces of evil, driven by an ideal of equality and peace.
    — Giorgia Olivieri, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The San Francisco Ballet production, which debuted in 2024, retells the myth of Pandora, who opened the box that unleashed humanity’s evil into the world.
    — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of evil
Noun
  • In addition to public goods, AI will also create public bads.
    — James Broughel, Forbes.com, 8 June 2026
  • Naturally, the meeting is a flop because no one was prepared, and their spontaneous ideas are frankly fireable-offense bad (a baguette bag shaped like a baguette for Paris?
    — Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025
Definition of bad
Noun
  • On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder.
    — Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2026
  • The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Definition of badness

Browse Nearby Words

villains
villainy
villanelle
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Villainy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villainy. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All