as in brute
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of villain
Brand New Day also features several villains co-created by Conway.
—
Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2026
The script was set for a team that was embracing its role as the villain.
—Eduardo A. Encina, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
The film is considered a turning point in Indian cinema, moving away from purely evil villains to ones that show more complexity and shades of grey.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2026
The villain — who flew around inside a giant disco ball for no apparent reason — absorbed the Guardians’ powers and used them against the magical girl heroes.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for villain
Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2026
The script was set for a team that was embracing its role as the villain.
—Eduardo A. Encina, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
The film is considered a turning point in Indian cinema, moving away from purely evil villains to ones that show more complexity and shades of grey.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2026
The villain — who flew around inside a giant disco ball for no apparent reason — absorbed the Guardians’ powers and used them against the magical girl heroes.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for villain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villain
Noun
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This time the closing hole was a brute, the toughest at Harbour Town on Sunday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Apr. 2026
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And what better way to force that out of her than to put her up against a brute of a man who has all the confidence in the world?—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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One untitled work from 1994 shows a strange monster—a guard bent over, gazing back at us between his own legs, his upside-down grin framed by his jackboots.—
Ben Davis,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
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The Browns, who have openly admitted regret over the monster trade and deal, restructured his contract last month for a third time in roughly a yearlong span.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Many of the toughest criminals taken into ICE custody were already in prison, but many others who were arrested have no criminal history.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
25 Apr. 2026
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In the furthest part of space lies Dante 01, a detention facility that houses criminals who have committed the most shocking crimes imaginable.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Something is wrong at New Hyde, a malevolent devil or monster which attacks patients, including Pepper.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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While the movie has some fun asking whether people actually want to know everything about their partners (a devil’s bargain since time immemorial), its real interest lies in how that knowledge is colored by who shares it.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Streep’s beloved ice queen portrayal wasn’t as savage as the book, where the character was a British dictator in designer glasses.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
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One answer would be that the more savage the storm, the more urgent the need for safe havens.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Court records show Abugharbieh entered into a diversion program for first-time offenders charged with misdemeanors.—
Holly Ramer,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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Per the alert, surveillance footage showed that in each of the incidents, one offender gained access by breaking into several vehicle windows and then proceeding to remove valuable items inside the cars.—
Claire Murphy,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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New Orleans has long been notorious for embracing such scoundrels, a reputation that isn’t exactly helped by the fact that, for many years, disgraced attorneys who lost their licenses in Louisiana and applied for readmission to the bar often got it.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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Sure, the Oscar-winning makeup helps transform the actor into Cheney, but the voice and petulance are all Bale, whose conjuring of this scoundrel ought to trigger PTSD for anyone who survived the Dubya years.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Chelsea and City will meet in the FA Cup final after a beast of a hit from Nico Gonzalez (above) saw City through their semi against Southampton on Saturday.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Noah Centineo gives his beast mean mug while at Paramount Pictures' presentation at CinemaCon on April 16.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Villain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villain. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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