VILLAINS Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

villains

noun

plural of villain

as in brutes

a mean, evil, or unprincipled person only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom

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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 villains Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, U30 lister Tom Holland, is back on the screen to beat both villains and records. — Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 The aforementioned Richie Aprile, played wonderfully by David Proval, makes for one of the most menacing villains of the series. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026 Still, bonus points for casting Chukwudi Iwuji as the menacing High Evolutionary, one of the oddest and most unsettling Marvel villains in recent memory. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026 All three of the aforementioned actors showed up to battle a rogues’ gallery of series villains. — Ken Makin, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Aug. 2026 In essence, the excellent second season is dedicated to muddying the myth of heroes and villains, in that heroes don’t have to put themselves above anyone in order to lead. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 2 Aug. 2026 Modern Californians have been forced to make do with Hollywood's CGI versions of the fault, which cast it as one of the state's darkest villains. — Rong-Gong Lin Ii Los Angeles Times, Arkansas Online, 2 Aug. 2026 Well, at least the actors who play our favorite heroes and villains did this past week. — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 1 Aug. 2026 Considering Banks’ filmography spans 50 years and includes Breaking Bad’s assortment of highly celebrated villains, Dalton knew the weight of such a statement. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 31 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for villains

Noun

These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.

— Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 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

Definition of brutes

Noun

As creatures from Indonesian mythology emerge to threaten his students’ community, Chris and his pupils find their fight extends beyond monsters to their own inner struggles.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Aug. 2026
The viruses the researchers created are not Frankenstein’s monsters.

— Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of monsters

Noun

North Carolina politician says Democrats are coddling criminals Records also list a September 2025 simple-assault charge and a March 2025 charge of assault on a female.

— Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Even if Anna Pigeon carries a gun with cuffs, as real-life law enforcement rangers do, there's much more to the job and character than chasing down criminals.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

This high-security prison is a sprawling complex that houses thousands of detainees, including notorious gangsters, terrorists and prominent white-collar offenders.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Based upon their replies, occupying Allied officials ranked their culpability, then tried the worst offenders — most famously in the Nuremberg trials, but also in numerous local tribunals.

— Fern Schumer Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of offenders

Noun

In 2025, two Tasmanian devils arrived at the Australian Outback exhibit.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 July 2026
Tasmanian devils suffer from Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD), a highly fatal cancer spread by biting, which has devastated their population and surprisingly arose twice.

— John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Definition of devils

Noun

Armed groups, known as bandits in Nigeria, regularly carry out raids and kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and north-central parts of the country.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
The area was wild and uninhabited, but the bandits moved through it with practiced ease.

— Alexis Okeowo, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

And the surviving cartel scoundrels take the parting shot by kidnapping beloved Carter, putting a hood on him and taking the boy off.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 3 July 2026
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

Definition of scoundrels

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villainousness

villains

villainy

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“Villains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villains. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of villains

noun

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