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

An actual superhero will finally show up to defeat the supervillain and restore everyone to their normal sizes. — Eddie Small, New Yorker, 18 June 2026

Goldmember matched its predecessor's performance in 2002, and introduced Myers' latest creation, a gold-hungry Dutch supervillain named Goldmember. — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 17 June 2026

So Iago, the supervillain, working on Othello. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026

Featuring alongside Bettany is James Spader, reprising his role as supervillain Ultron, as well as Todd Stashwick as Paladin, a morally gray mercenary who acts as an assassin targeting Vision’s technology, and Faran Tahir, who is once again playing Raza, the Ten Rings leader from 2008’s Iron Man. — Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 16 May 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