as in brutes
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom
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Recent Examples of villains
Similarly, Sage’s (Susan Heyward) reverse heel turn and Ashley’s (Colby Minifie) life-saving assistance in the West Wing are apparently good enough deeds to spare these savory villains a more commensurate sentence.
—
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
Staying true to what Rosen said about the show’s absence of clear villains, Flynn agreed that his cam boy may not be a typical bad guy.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2026
Fans wanted to come to the matches just to see the villains lose.
—Darius Rucker, Rolling Stone, 19 May 2026
Pratt’s campaign did not create the viral AI videos depicting him as a superhero taking on a cast of California Democratic villains.
—National Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
His exit from Ole Miss already turned him into one of the biggest villains in college football.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 May 2026
After all, the movement’s villains include female bosses, feminists, and women who don’t bear children—and Harris was the embodiment of all three.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026
The Man of Steel fights several new villains in the trailer, but the most formidable foe is Cyborg Superman.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 14 May 2026
The complexity of individuals – the truth that heroes could commit bad acts and that villains could at times be redeemed – was seared into Foxman from childhood.
—Ron Kampeas, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
Staying true to what Rosen said about the show’s absence of clear villains, Flynn agreed that his cam boy may not be a typical bad guy.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2026
Fans wanted to come to the matches just to see the villains lose.
—Darius Rucker, Rolling Stone, 19 May 2026
Pratt’s campaign did not create the viral AI videos depicting him as a superhero taking on a cast of California Democratic villains.
—National Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
His exit from Ole Miss already turned him into one of the biggest villains in college football.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 May 2026
After all, the movement’s villains include female bosses, feminists, and women who don’t bear children—and Harris was the embodiment of all three.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026
The Man of Steel fights several new villains in the trailer, but the most formidable foe is Cyborg Superman.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 14 May 2026
The complexity of individuals – the truth that heroes could commit bad acts and that villains could at times be redeemed – was seared into Foxman from childhood.
—Ron Kampeas, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villains
Noun
-
That’s happened in several Mid Atlantic rivers, but in the absence of larger brutes like blues and flathead, channels will thrive and can break the 15-pound mark.—
Joe Cermele,
Outdoor Life,
9 Apr. 2026
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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
Noun
-
In the series, while visiting Japan on the ultimate foodie adventure, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy unwittingly unleash hundreds of mythical monsters that are causing trouble across the country.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
18 May 2026
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When Jade reaches the room with the slabs, the monsters come and put him in what appears to be a kind of grave in the center of the room.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
When unhoused people are treated as criminals, they are pushed into an identity of exclusion rather than belonging.—
Shianne LeClaire,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
-
That’s the job of law enforcement, who make arrests, judges who sentence criminals to pay for their crimes, and a parole board that cares about public safety.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
Those players were found guilty of tax evasion but avoided prison time thanks to a provision that allows a judge to waive sentences under two years in length for first-time offenders.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
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Now, a new dashboard shows the worst offenders.—
Jack Flemming,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Ash devils can hurl hot embers in all directions and spark new fires, but this one harmlessly dissipated without spreading the blaze further.—
Blanca Begert,
Los Angeles Times,
3 May 2026
-
Other propaganda compared Native people to buffalo, cats, dogs, and devils.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
This notion was based on outdated presumptions of hillforts as being occupied by violent, prehistoric savages.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Or Irish, in a time when they were seen as savages by the Englishmen?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Deportees from the United States are especially vulnerable to robbery and kidnapping because gangs and bandits assume that their families can pay larger ransoms.—
Caitlin Dickerson,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2026
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Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
13 May 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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Political leaders who encourage or tolerate such scoundrels should be driven from office.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Villains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villains. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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