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
The plot has unexpected twists and a compelling villain, with surprising depth.
—
Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 17 June 2026
But now Dolan, long a villain to his own fans, has led the Knicks to the NBA mountaintop and snapped a 53-year title drought on those terms.
—Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 16 June 2026
Impacciatore, however, is a gifted, full-throttle comedienne who makes sure Esmerelda is much more than a villain.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 16 June 2026
Beyond harsher criticism, sports media frames Black athletes differently — often naming them as villains, failures, antagonists or questioning their leadership when necessary.
—Brielle Miller, Baltimore Sun, 16 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for villain
Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 17 June 2026
But now Dolan, long a villain to his own fans, has led the Knicks to the NBA mountaintop and snapped a 53-year title drought on those terms.
—Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 16 June 2026
Impacciatore, however, is a gifted, full-throttle comedienne who makes sure Esmerelda is much more than a villain.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 16 June 2026
Beyond harsher criticism, sports media frames Black athletes differently — often naming them as villains, failures, antagonists or questioning their leadership when necessary.
—Brielle Miller, Baltimore Sun, 16 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for villain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villain
Noun
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Historically speaking, the Allied Supreme Commander wasn’t considered an angry brute so much as a steady diplomat who was capable of sudden, persuasive rage.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
26 May 2026
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Even the consumer-level codes that encrypt your online banking are so hard to break that every computer on the planet working together would need longer than the age of the universe to brute-force them apart.—
David M. Ewalt,
Scientific American,
19 May 2026
Noun
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The Tribune likened the spectacle to Veeck’s version of Frankenstein’s monster.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
13 June 2026
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With venom and shrewd determination, Nicholson paints his character as a swaggering monster who milks every syllable of his dialogue with vitriolic relish.—
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 June 2026
Noun
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An allegation last year by a provincial police commander that top officers and officials were colluding with organized criminals led Ramaphosa to announce a national investigation into police corruption.—
Michelle Gumede,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2026
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Roman emperors, sometimes urged on by the crowd, were known to grant pardons (to criminals) and freedom (to the enslaved) after an especially noteworthy performance.—
Cullen Murphy,
The Atlantic,
13 June 2026
Noun
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But there are lots of potential devils in the details (otherwise there’d be little need for experimental reactors).—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
9 June 2026
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The two vivid soloists were tenor Anthony León as the cocky troubadour and baritone Eleomar Cuello as the cocky devil.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
Noun
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Or a group of shipwrecked boys turning into savages and killing one another?—
Glenn Whipp,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
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The Indians in Westerns had war paint and whooped like savages.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 May 2026
Noun
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The offender fled in a red SUV in an unknown direction.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
14 June 2026
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The program, which is likely to run in the afternoons or evenings, and would be open anyone looking to change careers, returning veterans and ex-offenders, Awwad said.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2026
Noun
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Paxton, meanwhile, is known for being a scoundrel.—
Nicole Russell,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
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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
Noun
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But beneath that modest performance over 82 games was a beast ready to turn it loose.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
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Eighties Rush is a beast of its own, with walls of synths and an evolving approach from Peart, who began to embrace polyrhythms and reggae à la his friend Stewart Copeland.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Villain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villain. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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