as in brutes
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of villains
With ‘live’ scenes from the ship’s top deck, Marvel villains had invaded the cruise and the screens showed our heroes in action, saving the day.
—
Helen Wright, TheWeek, 11 Mar. 2026
On one level, the Nazis here are stereotypical adventure story villains, yet specific actual Nazi atrocities are discussed and the suffering of French citizens is deeply felt.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026
The villains in this TikTok trend are clear, with most of the videos poking fun at narcissistic, annoying, or outright delusional people that just seem to be an inescapable part of life these days.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2026
There’s no heroes or villains in this story.
—Literary Hub, 11 Mar. 2026
Popular culture has long elevated certain women by portraying others as rivals, obstacles or villains.
—Hannah Malach, InStyle, 10 Mar. 2026
This love story has heroes and villains.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 9 Mar. 2026
His villains were flamboyant, but Bruce was mournful, reluctant — no onscreen superhero has more palpably wrestled with not wanting to be a superhero.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026
Popular culture has long elevated certain women by portraying others as rivals, obstacles or villains.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2026
Helen Wright, TheWeek, 11 Mar. 2026
On one level, the Nazis here are stereotypical adventure story villains, yet specific actual Nazi atrocities are discussed and the suffering of French citizens is deeply felt.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026
The villains in this TikTok trend are clear, with most of the videos poking fun at narcissistic, annoying, or outright delusional people that just seem to be an inescapable part of life these days.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2026
There’s no heroes or villains in this story.
—Literary Hub, 11 Mar. 2026
Popular culture has long elevated certain women by portraying others as rivals, obstacles or villains.
—Hannah Malach, InStyle, 10 Mar. 2026
This love story has heroes and villains.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 9 Mar. 2026
His villains were flamboyant, but Bruce was mournful, reluctant — no onscreen superhero has more palpably wrestled with not wanting to be a superhero.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026
Popular culture has long elevated certain women by portraying others as rivals, obstacles or villains.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villains
Noun
-
For much of his career, Skarsgård has gravitated toward characters who weaponize physical presence — Vikings, tech titans and mythic brutes whose power is immediately legible.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Credit to producers Tim Zinnemann and George Linder for selecting a veritable array of brutes to wage battle with Arnold.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
But this remains a polling no-brainer for lawmakers, who are tired of being seen as self-serving greed monsters.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Gyllenhaal cast her husband Peter Sarsgaard as a detective in pursuit of the two monsters on the run, with Penelope Cruz as his partner.—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Whatley said those policies threaten law enforcement officers and public safety, arguing that criminals belong behind bars and pledging to continue backing law enforcement.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
7 Mar. 2026
-
The decisive action of the Mexican government is positive for families on both sides of the border who suffer the devastating consequences of the activities of these transnational criminals.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Creuzot, a former state district judge and pioneer of diversion programs that steer low-level offenders from prison into rehabilitation programs, ran on his record.—
Gromer Jeffers Jr,
Dallas Morning News,
9 Mar. 2026
-
The offenders forcefully entered the home, in the 700 block of Rosewood Avenue, after one of them posed as a food delivery worker to gain access to the home, Winnetka police said.—
Pioneer Press,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Mar. 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
-
Or Irish, in a time when they were seen as savages by the Englishmen?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Police arrested one of four snowball bandits caught on camera clobbering the cops with snow.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Traditional western dramas were more likely to depict vaqueros as bandits than hard-working ranch hands whose contributions were fundamental to the American West.—
Foreign Correspondent,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Political leaders who encourage or tolerate such scoundrels should be driven from office.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
23 Feb. 2026
-
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 14 Mar. 2026.
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