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

And then throwing in an older Mysterio into the mix—so many of these supervillains wear a mask all the time. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026

His character, Doctor Doom, is a masked supervillain whose origins date back to his college roommate and rival, Reed Richards, who is now the leader of the Fantastic Four, Mister Fantastic. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2026

At once a world-class, supervillain-busting secret agent and a prototypically insecure adolescent, Kim Possible (Christy Carlson Romano) outwardly resembled a great number of female cartoon characters from the early aughts. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026

And the trailers for Clayface look creepy and like the right kind of mix between body horror and supervillain storytelling, generating good buzz among comic fans and horror stans. — Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 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