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
Our country just invaded Venezuela and captured its president, who admittedly was a bad guy.
—Arkansas Online, 9 Jan. 2026
By splicing pop songs and familiar meme formats into cruel detainment footage, ICE strains to attract a younger demographic, hoping to convince people that the agency is a vibrant—and trollishly funny—organization engaged in the noble work of putting away bad guys.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
At the end of the ceremony, Mike notices something in the feedback of the speakers at graduation that reminds him of the same noise used against El by the government bad guys.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Instead of kicking down doors and catching bad guys, Sergeant Angel finds himself in the charming village of Sandford, where the crime rate is nonexistent — but, somehow, the villagers keep winding up dead.
—Lia Beck, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bad guy
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Arkansas Online, 9 Jan. 2026
By splicing pop songs and familiar meme formats into cruel detainment footage, ICE strains to attract a younger demographic, hoping to convince people that the agency is a vibrant—and trollishly funny—organization engaged in the noble work of putting away bad guys.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
At the end of the ceremony, Mike notices something in the feedback of the speakers at graduation that reminds him of the same noise used against El by the government bad guys.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Instead of kicking down doors and catching bad guys, Sergeant Angel finds himself in the charming village of Sandford, where the crime rate is nonexistent — but, somehow, the villagers keep winding up dead.
—Lia Beck, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 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 11 Jan. 2026.
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