as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
he plays the role of the duplicitous knave who tries to foil the play's hero
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Recent Examples of knave
How does history distinguish knaves from legendary figures?
—
W.e. Gutman, Sun Sentinel, 8 July 2025
Human beings are motivated by virtue (knights) or rigid self-interest (knaves), or are passive victims of their circumstances (pawns).
—Sachin H. Jain, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
W.e. Gutman, Sun Sentinel, 8 July 2025
Human beings are motivated by virtue (knights) or rigid self-interest (knaves), or are passive victims of their circumstances (pawns).
—Sachin H. Jain, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knave
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
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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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Among the fastest-growing indoor plants is golden pathos or devil’s ivy (Epipremnum aureum).—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
6 Feb. 2026
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Sun Raha Hai sees a desperate millionaire drawn into a devil’s pact and rom-com Mismatched is back for a fourth and final season.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Clues in the snow led to the arrests of two suspects in a business break-in during last weekend’s monster storm in the Charlotte region and rest of the state, Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell said in a social media post.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Feb. 2026
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The 6-8 Mendoza was a monster on Friday, scoring 21 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking six shots.—
John Maffei,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Feb. 2026
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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Going back to the origins of everyone's favorite scoundrel, Han Solo, may have felt like a no-brainer — especially with Kasdan on board as co-writer — but the film never felt like an essential addition to the rapidly expanding canon.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
17 Dec. 2025
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Giannis, a gentleman even in this era of scoundrels, likely wants to do right by the Bucks, too.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
3 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Knave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knave. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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