Definition of archvillain
plural archvillains
:a principal or extreme villain
- Mr. Bernstein is very much in labor's corner as he recounts his story, and he portrays Mr. Lorenzo as an archvillain, heaping blame on him at every turn.
- —William Stockton, New York Times Book Review, 26 Aug. 1990
- Literary archvillains include Sherlock Holmes' archfoe Professor James Moriarty and Captain Ahab's murderous Moby Dick.
- —Sol Steinmetz, Semantic Antics, 2008
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