supervillain

noun

su·​per·​vil·​lain ˈsü-pər-ˌvi-lən 

plural supervillains

: a fictional villain having extraordinary or superhuman powers

In more recent years, [Jon] Cryer appeared as legendary supervillain Lex Luthor in the CW drama Supergirl.

—Martin Holmens

… the issue will feature Spider-Man facing off against the Sinister Six, which includes supervillains Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Mysterio, Sandman, Electro and Kraven the Hunter …

—Jeremy Childs

also : a person or entity likened to a supervillain

On the show, [Elon] Musk suggests there is a "fast way and a slow way" to raise the temperatures of Mars before sharing the fast way is to "drop thermonuclear weapons over the poles." The idea is greeted by [Stephen] Colbert calling Musk a supervillain, to which Musk just casually responds, "Yeah."

—AJ Dellinger

compare superhero, superheroine

Examples of supervillain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The biggest supervillain in college football history laughed when hearing about his most recent notoriety. — Mike Griffith, AJC.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Ant-Man, the Wasp and their heroic family wind up in the Quantum Realm and new supervillain Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) needs the tiny Avenger's help to escape. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

Frost is a telepathic Mutant who first showed up in X-Men comics in the 1980s and has evolved over the years, going from supervillain to a key member of the X-Men. — Justin Kroll, Deadline, 31 July 2026

Testing finished early in July, but Weaving was ultimately chosen to play the supervillain, an interesting pick for the first-ever X-Men movie in the MCU. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supervillain

• cyclopropane
• legerdemain
• nitromethane
• ultramontane
• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine