villainy

noun

vil·​lainy ˈvi-lə-nē How to pronounce villainy (audio)
plural villainies
1
: villainous conduct
also : a villainous act
2
: the quality or state of being villainous : depravity

Examples of villainy in a Sentence

a story of villainy and betrayal the gruesome villainies of war
Recent Examples on the Web Butler brings a lot of psychotic joy to the proceedings, never letting Villeneuve’s seriousness overwhelm a bit of B-movie villainy. David Sims, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2024 Gallagher, Messina and DeBose are all pretty likable on the surface, while the others exude old-school Soviet villainy, and Cowperthwaite does her part to upend expectations on both sides. Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024 Escalante rejects both simplified villainy and stainless heroism, crafting individuals with clear motivations who never stop to consider their actions through a moral filter. Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Feb. 2024 No amount of trauma or nightmarish villainy was too much to heap onto Krueger's backstory. Dustin Nelson, EW.com, 30 Oct. 2023 Fey’s choice of villainy — the Plastics — fits the idiotic Barbie craze, now being praised as a women’s-lib statement. Armond White, National Review, 17 Jan. 2024 The inevitable charisma of villainy makes the accusers vivid as well. Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024 Is this an Osage story with white villains, in other words, or a story of white villainy with Osage trappings? Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2024 His truncated run in the House, characterized by a series of cartoonish acts of villainy that would make the Grinch blush, feels like a social experiment gone awry. Jp Brammer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'villainy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of villainy was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near villainy

Cite this Entry

“Villainy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/villainy. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

villainy

noun
vil·​lainy ˈvil-ə-nē How to pronounce villainy (audio)
plural villainies
: conduct or actions of or typical of a villain

More from Merriam-Webster on villainy

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