as in evil
that which is morally unacceptable
psychologists and sociologists have tried to discover the roots of such unspeakable villainy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of villainy
For Game 3, Springer was joined in villainy by Toronto’s starting pitcher.
—
Andy McCullough, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
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
Ultimately, Nellie’s villainy is discovered and she’s punished by her father, while Laura gets the guy.
—Victoria Edel, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villainy
Andy McCullough, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
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
Ultimately, Nellie’s villainy is discovered and she’s punished by her father, while Laura gets the guy.
—Victoria Edel, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villainy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villainy
Noun
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An evil, narcoterrorist dictator has fallen, creating a path for freedom for the wonderful, highly intelligent, hard working people of Venezuela.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Jan. 2026
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The Cult of the Real Housewife docuseries also relies on cult expert Steven Hassan to better understand how Mary Cosby and Bishop Cosby could allegedly manipulate and coerce their followers into handing over their life savings to people seen as faith healers capable of delivering them from evil.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
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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
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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
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As if to prove that it can’t be exceeded in badness, Playdate has both.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Villainy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villainy. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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