villainousness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for villainousness
Noun
  • The series builds to an act of hauntingly heinous evil.
    John Hopewell, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
  • No one in Rader’s family, his friends at church, or his co-workers had any idea that evil lived among them.
    Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • That was really what helped me into the character and into her evilness.
    William Earl, Variety, 4 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The meanie store manager (played, with cartoony hard-ass villainy, by Peter Dinklage) refuses to make a donation, so Manchester gathers a bagful of (stolen) toys and brings them over to the church himself.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Penn, giving a brilliant performance of cold villainy that could win him a third Oscar, is unafraid of lancing the inherent goofiness of a fascist.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Here was an artist, a father, murdering someone with a viciousness that went beyond self-preservation.
    Seamus Sullivan September 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The movie’s grand centerpiece is a dinner party where Theo and Ivy go at each other with such viciousness that their guests can only stand by and watch, aghast.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • When Hedda and Eileen were wild together, Eileen’s drinking and carousing was a problem, but she’s put all that wickedness behind her, mostly thanks to the love of Thea Clifton (a delicate Imogen Poots), who has also just arrived at the mansion for the world’s worst party.
    Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland, the two-minute clip teases a relationship on the brink, influenced by the unfolding wickedness around the couple.
    Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • But in the mid-1800s sentiment around lotteries had begun to nosedive in the U.S. as concerns rose about their moral turpitude and by the end of the century, Congress outlawed the shipment of lottery tickets across state lines, ending most sales.
    Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2025
  • These alienating qualities don’t hold Prophecy or its characters back; the Sisters’ moral turpitude drives both the empire and the intrigue forward.
    Emma Stefansky, The Atlantic, 21 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • While working together on The Unit, David Mamet once told you that good drama isn’t a choice between good and bad; good drama is the choice between two bads.
    Max Gao, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Jan. 2025
  • Reports out of fall camp haven’t been super favorable to their offense, and while the defense will, again, be top-notch, a team with this bad of an offense cannot be trusted.
    Austin Mock, The Athletic, 19 Aug. 2024
Noun
  • Many students have acted boldly, and occasionally made dumb mistakes, because they were outraged by historical wrongs, incendiary speakers, cultural stereotypes, or other provocations.
    Christopher L. Eisgruber, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
  • The player himself is not motivated by proving United wrong, but rather to show up the critics who questioned his ability to be a top striker.
    Chris McKenna, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Villainousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villainousness. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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