bad guy
noun
1
informal
: the villain in a story : baddie
played the bad guy in the movie
2
informal
: someone who is likened to the villain in a story: such as
a
: a criminal
Designed to keep guns out of the hands of bad guys and children …—
Popular Science
Popular Science
b
: a military enemy
… a decision that owes more to parochial conflicts within the Armed Forces than to doing the best job of surveilling bad guys.—Stuart F. Brown
Stuart F. Brown
c
: someone who deserves to be blamed or criticized for causing a bad situation
Meanwhile, it's the environmentalists who are now portrayed as the bad guys, hiring lots of lawyers, consorting with congressmen …—Eric Alterman
Eric Alterman
d
: a person who treats other people harshly or strictly : a person who says or does unpopular things
As a coach sometimes you have to be the bad guy.—Ed Jovanovski, quoted in Sports Illustrated
Ed Jovanovski, quoted in Sports IllustratedParenting isn't just about having beautiful kids and being busy. It's about dealing with problems, and your success as a parent depends on your willingness to be the bad guy. If you aren't willing to be the bad guy, you shouldn't be a parent.—Roy Bragg
Roy BraggExamples of bad guy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Players could control a huge cast of classic characters from the franchise in a toybox mash-up of different eras, wiping out armies of bad guys at a clip.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2025
Cheney never shied away from his bad guy persona.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
But, yeah, the [cartel] tape with the formula for Walter White’s methamphetamine would be more useful to bad guys of any ilk.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2025
Movie scenes where bad guys explain their motivation have been a cliché going back to early James Bond movies and before, but Prinze’s heartfelt delivery breathes new life into the convention.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bad guy
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Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2025
Cheney never shied away from his bad guy persona.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
But, yeah, the [cartel] tape with the formula for Walter White’s methamphetamine would be more useful to bad guys of any ilk.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2025
Movie scenes where bad guys explain their motivation have been a cliché going back to early James Bond movies and before, but Prinze’s heartfelt delivery breathes new life into the convention.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bad guy
Cite this Entry
“Bad guy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bad%20guy. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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