villain

noun

ˈvi-lən How to pronounce villain (audio)
Definition of villainnext
as in brute
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 villain The process also required a balance between finding the exact right fit for a part and avoiding typecasting, like when bringing in Mikkelsen, an actor known for playing a great villain, as the game’s main villain. — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026 Cortisol, long cast as a stress villain, is becoming the hormone that reorganizes the whole conversation about workout timing. — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026 There are no villains or scary scenes in this gentle story about a young witch finding her way in the world. — Anna Earl, Parents, 15 Oct. 2026 In a storm that had nothing to do with them, many have bought into the pantomime of it all, relishing their role as the arch villains of English soccer. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for villain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villain
  1. brute
  2. monster
  3. criminal
  4. devil
  5. savage
  6. offender
  7. scoundrel
  8. beast
Noun
  • Most sportsmen wonder how any whitetail bucks, let alone a brute such as Kontras’, could have been so easily patterned.
    — Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The show’s depiction of Hugh as a family man has been much more sympathetic than the book’s description of him as a power-hungry brute.
    — James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of brute
Noun
  • Diagnose the monster before deciding which mind and which move are required to outwit it.
    — Jeff DeGraff, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • That led him to snowy Deadwood, South Dakota, and a turn as local guide Gil Jackson in the horror heist movie Beast From Haunted Cave (1959), produced by Roger’s brother, Gene Corman, and featuring Chris Robinson as the monster.
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of monster
Noun
  • Still, a criminal may combine those details with passwords, PINs or other information stolen elsewhere.
    — 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 criminal
Noun
  • Behave yourself, buddy, or the little red devil will take you away!
    — Sanat Pai Raikar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Dostoyevsky’s sniveling devil comes closest to portraying the man chiefly responsible for organizing the Final Solution.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of devil
Noun
  • Perhaps if it had been marketed as a quirky arthouse film, critical expectations might have been tempered and the naysayers’ assessments a bit less savage.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The Danish director’s Pusher trilogy (which was restored and rereleased last year) had been handheld, hyperrealistic, and savage; Drive, on the other hand, was ethereal and moody, its characters submerged, their delivery precise.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of savage
Noun
  • Research on offenders with mental disorders suggests that recidivism depends more on criminal history than on diagnosis.
    — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • At the root of the crisis is inadequate laws to punish offenders and a poor judicial system, activists say.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of offender
Noun
  • There’s been bestselling books, podcasts, an Alex Gibney documentary, and an Emmy-winning series featuring Amanda Seyfried as the Silicon Valley scoundrel.
    — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, Frank Dillane plays Willoughby, Marianne’s love interest, with such commitment that the actor was surprised to learn his character is universally acknowledged to be a scoundrel.
    — Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of scoundrel
Noun
  • Transformation scenes can be unintentionally laughable, and no one has fully figured out how to make a wolf-human hybrid look less like a fall-season impulse buy at Home Depot and more like a terrifically terrifying beast.
    — Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 16 Oct. 2026
  • One whale metaphor that lands quite nicely is how the sperm whale calls out for help when in distress, which inspires a Hail Mary plan in Jay’s fight for freedom from the belly of the beast.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of beast

Browse Nearby Words

villages
villain
villainess
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Villain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villain. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All