archvillain

noun

arch·vil·lain | \ (ˌ)ärch-ˈvi-lən

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\

plural archvillains

Definition of archvillain

: 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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The first known use of archvillain was circa 1616

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