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
This rhetoric is employed to justify the state taking life, by associating the dead with national villainy.
—
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
Having picked a capital of luxury as his setting, Stroheim proceeded lavishly, expanding his fanaticism for detail, his cast of characters and extras, his vision of villainy, and, of course, his budget.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
Cosby’s good guys do things that outpace the rankest villainy in the work of other crime writers.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Once a hero himself, Shroud seems more disillusioned than diametrically opposed to the good guys just for the sake of villainy.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villainy
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Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
Having picked a capital of luxury as his setting, Stroheim proceeded lavishly, expanding his fanaticism for detail, his cast of characters and extras, his vision of villainy, and, of course, his budget.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
Cosby’s good guys do things that outpace the rankest villainy in the work of other crime writers.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Once a hero himself, Shroud seems more disillusioned than diametrically opposed to the good guys just for the sake of villainy.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villainy
Cite this Entry
“Villainy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/villainy. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
villainy
noun
vil·lainy
ˈvil-ə-nē 
plural villainies
: conduct or actions of or typical of a villain
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