knaves

noun

plural of knave
as in villains
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person he plays the role of the duplicitous knave who tries to foil the play's hero

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of knaves The knights who always told the truth and the knaves who always lied. — Quanta Magazine, 20 Aug. 2026 Try for yourselves, ye witless knaves— Take each to bed your Sally! — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knaves
  1. villains
  2. brutes
  3. criminals
  4. savages
  5. devils
  6. monsters
  7. scoundrels
Noun
  • The station is soon invaded by out-of-time baseball stars, fairytale villains, and unseasonal snow, all created by aliens eager to understand the concept of imagination.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • The zombie is one of the most elastic and grotesque villains in the genre, shifting dramatically from early-Hollywood films built on racial stereotypes to the now-popular vision of a monster that yearns to devour those still living.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of villains
Noun
  • These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.
    — Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
  • In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-​skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-​skinned developing world.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026
Definition of brutes
Noun
  • That is what makes seemingly basic personal information so useful to criminals.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Pillay, 85, received the news while attending a forum in Nuremberg, Germany, where the trials of Nazi war criminals helped lay the foundations of international law.
    — Stefanie Dazio, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of criminals
Noun
  • And potentially discover treasure that will keep the savages at home from tearing the place down.
    — Barry Collins, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
  • Or a group of shipwrecked boys turning into savages and killing one another?
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
Definition of savages
Noun
  • Researchers have also documented the phenomenon in dogs, Tasmanian devils, and some kinds of clams and other shellfish.
    — Adam Cohen, Oklahoman, 18 Aug. 2026
  • In 2025, two Tasmanian devils arrived at the Australian Outback exhibit.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 July 2026
Definition of devils
Noun
  • Next week, find out how monsters, ghouls and slashers can also mean big bucks.
    — Ayesha Rascoe, NPR, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The story begins in 1990, when John Eng, an endocrinologist at the Veterans Administration, isolated a peptide from the venom of Gila monsters, the nearly two-foot-long lizards native to the Southwest.
    — Dr. Bowman Heiden, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of monsters
Noun
  • But as with any good Leonard story, the best moments come from the characters, a rogues’ gallery of violent ruffians and neurotic, duplicitous scoundrels.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Players command Hawks, a former Republic officer, leading a customizable squad of diverse archetypes, including Jedi and scoundrels.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of scoundrels

Browse Nearby Words

knavery
knaves
knavish
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Cite this Entry

“Knaves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knaves. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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