as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
upon entering the store, I was beset by a caitiff in the guise of a salesman set on separating me from my money
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for caitiff
Noun
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Barraza, who was a member of the 501st Legion, a fan group that painstakingly re-creates Star Wars villains' costumes, already had her new suitcases packed — which resembled the ones Harry Potter took with him to Hogwarts.—
Christine Pelisek,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026 -
To see him as a criminal, a perpetrator and villain, was a cognitive dissonance that demanded our attention.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For much of his career, Skarsgård has gravitated toward characters who weaponize physical presence — Vikings, tech titans and mythic brutes whose power is immediately legible.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
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As usual, Lang plays the brute’s Heart of Darkness–esque descent into madness with gleeful relish.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
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The Urus, a snarling, spitting savage dressed up in an orange tuxedo, will cause a commotion at the supermarket, gym and park.—
Josh Max,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
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Brutal, savage, and gory, this movie follows a home invasion on Christmas Eve where a mysterious woman (Béatrice Dalle) tries to steal an unborn baby right out of another woman's (Alysson Paradis) pregnant belly.—
Huntley Woods,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Catrina Bell loves to write sweetie pie monsters who bring the heat.—
Meg Miller,
Austin American Statesman,
31 Jan. 2026
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Essie Davis plays Amelia, who struggles to raise her 6-year-old son, Sam (Noah Wiseman), as he's tormented by the titular humanoid storybook monster.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The elegant sets and lavish costume designs are stunning, as is Jacob Elordi's multi-faceted performance as the intelligent wretch stitched together from corpses.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
27 Dec. 2025
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Her expressions, her movements, her delivery — all of it makes Carol more complex than just a miserable wretch.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
3 Dec. 2025
Noun
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His characters make cavalier deals with the proverbial devil, even as the costs become harder to ignore.—
Virgie Tovar,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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There are sounds and shadows in the forest; the Devil, or devils, may be walking the earth.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The committee voted to fully fund payments to jails, which have housed some offenders as a backup, and for medical payments.—
The Denver Post,
Denver Post,
31 Jan. 2026
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An Illinois man faces child pornography charges in Waukesha County under a new Wisconsin law that aims to punish offenders who use artificial intelligence to generate explicit images.—
Chris Ramirez,
jsonline.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Immigration and Integration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said 315 foreign criminals from countries outside the European Union had received sentences of more than a year over the last five years but were not expelled.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
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The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment, but officials there have broadly defended the department’s actions as not only justified but necessary for ensuring the rule of law and holding alleged criminals to account.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Caitiff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caitiff. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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