1
as in villains
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
he played the heavy in film after film until being cast against type as the romantic lead in a comedy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in heavyweights
one of high position or importance within a group
in the field of secondary education, she definitely ranks as one of the heavies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of heavies
The Paramount executive also became president of the American Motion Picture Association (precursor to the MPA) in 1925, beating out the likes of Marcus Loew, Lasky, William Fox, Hays, Sam Rothafel, Sam Katz, Carl Laemmle, Joseph Schenck, and other Hollywood heavies.
—
Chris Yogerst, HollywoodReporter, 16 Jan. 2026
Kier’s American career centered around playing heavies.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
In February, Mayor Harrell, at the behest of local heavies such as Amazon and Microsoft, led the opposition to a referendum on another tax on those companies which would help pay for public, mixed-income housing in a city that desperately needs it.
—Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025
Chris Yogerst, HollywoodReporter, 16 Jan. 2026
Kier’s American career centered around playing heavies.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
In February, Mayor Harrell, at the behest of local heavies such as Amazon and Microsoft, led the opposition to a referendum on another tax on those companies which would help pay for public, mixed-income housing in a city that desperately needs it.
—Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heavies
Noun
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Picking winners and losers, heroes and villains, pathways to success and failure, generates excitement for an event and manufactures a sense of urgency for maximal viewing pleasure.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
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As the country moves toward the 2026 midterms, the temptation will be to treat our current racial, political, and economic crisis as a sharp break from the past; to search for singular villains; and to imagine that a return to normalcy is just one election away.—
Heather Ann Thompson,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In 1907, it was redesigned as a bank in the style of an Italian Renaissance palazzo by McKim, Mead & White, the architects who put their stamp on New York heavyweights like the Brooklyn Museum and the original Penn Station.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
-
By April 2025, Gates and Kianni pivoted to build an iOS app, and brought on heavyweights like Kleiner Perkins and Michael Rubin, among others.—
Alexandra York,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Credit to producers Tim Zinnemann and George Linder for selecting a veritable array of brutes to wage battle with Arnold.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Minott healthy, two bigs sit An illness hit the Celtics’ locker room during the lead-up to Monday’s game.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
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Gonzaga is currently playing without starting bigs Graham Ike (ankle injury) and Braden Huff (knee injury).—
CJ Moore,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But beneath his plush exterior and upbeat messaging, Buddy is an insatiably needy, controlling narcissist requiring constant affirmations of the children’s love and filling their heads with terror of the monsters lurking in the outside world beyond the park in which the show takes place.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
-
And the monsters are truly terrifying.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
So much grunt routes through a trick all-wheel-drive system that actually uses a two-speed gearbox ahead of the engine between the front wheels, in addition to a more traditional eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle routing power to the rears.—
Michael Teo Van Runkle,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The Black Edition has black all over, including the body, trim, 18-inch alloy wheels, skidplate, and grille—and even black glass, almost, or privacy glass.—
Erik Shilling,
Robb Report,
29 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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Top police brass nationwide rarely criticize their federal partners, relying on collaboration to investigate gangs, extremist groups and other major criminals — while also counting on millions in funding from Washington each year.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Castillo said the solution requires leadership, coordination and a return to focused enforcement that prioritizes violent criminal offenders over broad street operations that escalate confrontation.—
Stepheny Price , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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In fact, reconciliation was often ill-advised, especially if offenders had not expressed remorse or commitment to any type of meaningful change.—
Richard Balkin,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heavies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heavies. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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