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
Design There’s a reason James Bond villains chase 007’s Aston Martin in fleets of black Defenders.
—
John Scott Lewinski, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2026
In the two-parter, which airs April 14 (8PM – 10 PM), the series’ central character, Amy (Molly Parker) will risk her life for one of the series’ main villains, Richard (Scott Wolf), who had killed a patient, tried to cover it up and blamed it on Amy, almost ending her career.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026
However, most of these films depicted Latinos as either incompetent or villains.
—Jared Bahir Browsh, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2026
Doubly packed with references compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy movie wedges in everything from Mario 2 villains to Star Fox, and marks the first steps toward establishing a larger Nintendo cinematic universe.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2026
Bondi and Noem aren’t just unqualified villains shown the door.
—Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
But CFCs, the solution to an earlier problem, turned out to be villains in disguise.
—Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
These measures are politically popular and ultra-wealthy Big Tech chiefs are easy villains.
—Catherine Thorbecke, Twin Cities, 28 Mar. 2026
There are no villains—or maybe life, or growing up, or getting older, is the villain.
—Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
John Scott Lewinski, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2026
In the two-parter, which airs April 14 (8PM – 10 PM), the series’ central character, Amy (Molly Parker) will risk her life for one of the series’ main villains, Richard (Scott Wolf), who had killed a patient, tried to cover it up and blamed it on Amy, almost ending her career.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026
However, most of these films depicted Latinos as either incompetent or villains.
—Jared Bahir Browsh, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2026
Doubly packed with references compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy movie wedges in everything from Mario 2 villains to Star Fox, and marks the first steps toward establishing a larger Nintendo cinematic universe.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2026
Bondi and Noem aren’t just unqualified villains shown the door.
—Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
But CFCs, the solution to an earlier problem, turned out to be villains in disguise.
—Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
These measures are politically popular and ultra-wealthy Big Tech chiefs are easy villains.
—Catherine Thorbecke, Twin Cities, 28 Mar. 2026
There are no villains—or maybe life, or growing up, or getting older, is the villain.
—Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villains
Noun
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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
-
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
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Daniel Bernhardt is Deathstalker, a legendary swordsman stuck with a cursed amulet who befriends swamp monsters and teams with a mini wizard (voiced by Patton Oswalt) to stop a dark magic from ruling the land.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
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Both were monsters on the boards and couldn’t be stopped at times inside.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The scheme is designed to identify suspected criminals, combat identity fraud, and to police the EU's limit on 90-day stays within a 180-day period, according to the European Commission.—
Emma Clarke,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Apr. 2026
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Rex Heuermann, the man known as the Gilgo Beach killer, admitted to killing eight women over a span of decades, and the FBI is now looking into what motivated the 62-year-old to carry out his crimes to help capture other criminals in the future.—
Matt Lavietes,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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He was convicted in 2019 at age 13 of assaulting another child at school with a hockey stick and placed under supervision of a local service for youth offenders.—
Brian Melley,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
-
He was convicted in 2019, aged 13, of assaulting another child at school with a hockey stick and placed under supervision of a local service for youth offenders.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Other propaganda compared Native people to buffalo, cats, dogs, and devils.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
-
There are sounds and shadows in the forest; the Devil, or devils, may be walking the earth.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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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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Set against mountainous landscapes and rural lakes, the story follows a wandering swordsman who is falsely accused of stealing a shipment of gold and must unravel a web of intrigue involving bandits, palace guards and corrupt officials while attempting to clear his name.—
Lin Ying-Hsuan,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
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Alongside attacks by bandits, Nigeria is also plagued by an insurgency fought by the Boko Haram extremist group and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Political leaders who encourage or tolerate such scoundrels should be driven from office.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
23 Feb. 2026
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Giannis, a gentleman even in this era of scoundrels, likely wants to do right by the Bucks, too.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
3 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Villains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villains. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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