villain

noun

vil·​lain ˈvi-lən 

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

… witness the wolf, at once ecological hero and agricultural villain.

—Ben Goldfarb

4

: villein

5

: an uncouth person : boor

Synonyms of villain

• brute
• monster
• criminal
• devil
• savage
• offender
• scoundrel
• beast
• bandit
• assassin

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

Antony Starr scored two nominations, for best actor and best villain, while co-stars Valorie Curry and Colby Minifie each earned best actress nominations. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 15 July 2026

After accumulating several stage credits, a few TV roles, and a Tony nomination for his performance in Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, Alan Rickman made his film debut as the iconic villain Hans Gruber in Die Hard. — Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026

With so many heroes and villains in its library, Disney obviously has a wealth of characters to mine from, but the aim is to be more strategic about which ones make the cut for Descendants. — Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026

Boundaries of good and evil are blurred even further with the introduction of Batman’s most iconic villain, The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, who died before the film was released. — Lea Tran, TheWeek, 14 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vilain, vilein, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin villanus, from Latin villa

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Rhymes for villain

• millon
• amoxicillin
• carbenicillin
• ampicillin
• methicillin
• penicillin
• pyroxylin
• vanillin

Kids Definition

villain

noun

vil·​lain ˈvil-ən 

1

: villein

2

: an evil person : scoundrel

3

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