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
The evil-doing in question is simple enough, at least for a franchise that has always been built around the existence of a clandestine organization of magicians (The Eye) who love using their skills to take down bad guys and quite literally share the wealth with their eager audiences.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 11 Nov. 2025
Season one reportedly will be centered around DC bad guy Gorilla Grodd, who often wrestles The Flash.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 10 Nov. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for bad guy
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Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 11 Nov. 2025
Season one reportedly will be centered around DC bad guy Gorilla Grodd, who often wrestles The Flash.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 10 Nov. 2025
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
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 14 Nov. 2025.
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