big bad
noun
variants
or Big Bad
plural big bads or Big Bads
: a major villain or antagonist (as in a movie, show, or game)
When Ursula, the story's big bad, took to the screen, I would run behind the entertainment center and cover my eyes, a fact my mom loves to remind me about whenever she gets the chance.—
KT Hawbaker
KT HawbakerAs the show [Buffy the Vampire Slayer] aged, the Big Bads became more dangerous and the lessons more adult, but Buffy never gave up …—Kaitlin Thomas
Kaitlin ThomasThe Big Bad this time around is the wind mage Vaati, who has captured Zelda, and it's your quest to defeat him and prevent the unholy union of princess and evil eyeball-blob-thing.—Tony Ponce
Tony PonceExamples of big bad in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hawkins has been under military occupation due to the rifts that emerged, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is back in hiding from the government, and the gang is determined to find and destroy Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) since the big bad seems to have gone off the grid.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Manipulation, threats, acts of physical and psychological violence (to oneself and others), as well as actual body snatching, were all part of Cipher’s brand while Linklater embodied Gen V’s season two big bad.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
But their Netflix series is an homage to '80s horror and adventure flicks, and Vecna and the Mind Flayer—the show’s ultimate big bads—need to kill people in order for the threat to feel real.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
Ares, a sequel ten years in the making to 2010’s Tron: Legacy film, roared into theaters Oct. 10 with Jared Leto as the star AI program Ares, Greta Lee starring as ENCOM CEO Eve Kim, Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger, grandson of the original Tron film’s big bad, and more.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for big bad
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Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Manipulation, threats, acts of physical and psychological violence (to oneself and others), as well as actual body snatching, were all part of Cipher’s brand while Linklater embodied Gen V’s season two big bad.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
But their Netflix series is an homage to '80s horror and adventure flicks, and Vecna and the Mind Flayer—the show’s ultimate big bads—need to kill people in order for the threat to feel real.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
Ares, a sequel ten years in the making to 2010’s Tron: Legacy film, roared into theaters Oct. 10 with Jared Leto as the star AI program Ares, Greta Lee starring as ENCOM CEO Eve Kim, Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger, grandson of the original Tron film’s big bad, and more.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for big bad
Cite this Entry
“Big bad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big%20bad. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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