as in evil
that which is morally unacceptable
psychologists and sociologists have tried to discover the roots of such unspeakable villainy
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of villainy
With all due respect to the great Patricia Arquette, the character wasn’t especially missed in her absence, as her villainy and zealotry have tended to be written in a more one-dimensional way than how Severance portrays those same broad ideas with Milchick.
—
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2025
Despicable Me 2 In this 2013 sequel, Gru has officially retired from villainy and is now a devoted father to Margo, Edith and Agnes.
—Emily Blackwood, People.com, 9 Jan. 2025
Or the constitutional dystopia in which we are now caught, beside which even the ugliest onscreen villainy pales into insignificance?
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
Some of the most compelling performances of Hartnett’s career, though, dip more fully into villainy.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for villainy
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2025
Despicable Me 2 In this 2013 sequel, Gru has officially retired from villainy and is now a devoted father to Margo, Edith and Agnes.
—Emily Blackwood, People.com, 9 Jan. 2025
Or the constitutional dystopia in which we are now caught, beside which even the ugliest onscreen villainy pales into insignificance?
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
Some of the most compelling performances of Hartnett’s career, though, dip more fully into villainy.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for villainy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villainy
Noun
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Two Prosecutors follows in that tradition, being a very slow and very talky chamber piece that could be the most terrifying comedy that Aki Kaurismäki never made, or a Chaplin-esque horror film about the evils of bureaucracy in a world ruled by morons.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
14 May 2025
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Nature, light, darkness, mundane rituals, violence, ambiguity, and evil, in such forms as death, tribalism, and xenophobia.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2025
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
Cite this Entry
“Villainy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villainy. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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