villain

noun

vil·lain | \ ˈvi-lən

Definition of villain

1 : a character in a story or play who opposes the hero

2 : a deliberate scoundrel or criminal

3 : one blamed for a particular evil or difficulty automation as the villain in job … displacement— M. H. Goldberg

4 : villein

5 : an uncouth person : boor

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about villain

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Examples of villain in a Sentence

He plays the villain in most of his movies. She describes her first husband as a villain who treated her terribly. Don't try to make me the villain. It's your own fault that you're having these problems.

Recent Examples on the Web

There were rumors that it might be called Shatterhand, an alias that classic Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld once used in the novel You Only Live Twice, but producers shot that down. — Andrew Daniels, Popular Mechanics, "Bond 25: Everything We Know About the New James Bond Movie," 25 Apr. 2019 Each villain has her very own themed lipstick bullet — think deep magenta for Maleficent, dark plum for Ursula, and more. — Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, "ColourPop's New Disney Villains Makeup Collection Is the Badass Collab You've Been Waiting For," 20 Mar. 2019 Jon Huertas knows this, and gets why his character is seen as the villain of the NBC hit drama. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "Jon Huertas Has a Message for All the Miguel Haters Out There," 19 Mar. 2019 In Aquaman’s credits scene, Black Manta is saved and gets some help In the film, Black Manta is treated as a secondary villain to King Orm. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Aquaman’s post-credits scene, explained," 21 Dec. 2018 In addition to replacing Li Shang with a new love interest, Chen Honghui, played by Yoson An, the film will also feature a witch as a villain and a pair of con-artists. — Emily Wang, Glamour, "Here's Your Epic First Look at the Mulan Live-Action Remake," 13 Aug. 2018 There is not a great deal of depth to Alexandria King’s Antigone or Ty Jones’s Creon, who comes across mainly as a standard villain. — Laura Collins-hughes, New York Times, "Review: ‘Antigone’ Asserts Whose Lives Matter, With Modern Relevance," 9 July 2018 Soprano Heidi Stober made a radiant Esther, Sarah Gartshore sang well as the second Israelite and Christopheren Nomura raged fearsomely as the villain Haman. — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Yo-Yo Ma and friends prove their mastery in Brahms; MOB ventures rare Handel oratorio," 28 Feb. 2018 Of course, Fred could be killed off, a victim of Hiram Lodge, Gladys Jones, the Gargoyle King, or one of the many other villains on the show. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "What Will Happen to "Riverdale" Following Luke Perry's Death?," 4 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'villain.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.