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

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

Even with Peter lamenting the loss of his mentor Tony Stark, high-school high jinks keep the storytelling lighthearted, while Jake Gyllenhaal makes an over-the-top splash as enigmatic supervillain Mysterio. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 31 July 2026

Weaving will play Emma Frost, who in comics lore has moved from supervillain to superhero over the course of the mutant’s long, long run in print. — Brent Lang, Variety, 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