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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of villainy
For years, Ye had been obsessed with notions of Jewish villainy, while also identifying himself with Adolf Hitler and Nazis.
—
Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Fennell's Heathcliff, on the other hand, is stripped of the majority of his villainy.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
This rhetoric is employed to justify the state taking life, by associating the dead with national villainy.
—Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
Cosby’s good guys do things that outpace the rankest villainy in the work of other crime writers.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villainy
Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Fennell's Heathcliff, on the other hand, is stripped of the majority of his villainy.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
This rhetoric is employed to justify the state taking life, by associating the dead with national villainy.
—Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
Cosby’s good guys do things that outpace the rankest villainy in the work of other crime writers.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villainy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villainy
Noun
-
Representing a fierce mythical demon or gatekeeper, the bulky figure would have warded off evil and protected the temple’s sacred space.—
Anne Doran,
ARTnews.com,
11 June 2026
-
Together, the two men battle the forces of evil, each other, and their own demons on the path to salvation.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
Naturally, the meeting is a flop because no one was prepared, and their spontaneous ideas are frankly fireable-offense bad (a baguette bag shaped like a baguette for Paris?—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
18 Dec. 2025
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In times when the city's bad seems to overshadow the good, Daniels and others like him can be a guidepost for generations to come.—
Sophia Tiedge,
jsonline.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
15 Jan. 2026
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The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Villainy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villainy. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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