Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for villain

villain

[ vil-uhn ]

noun

  1. a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel.

    Synonyms: scamp, rogue, rapscallion, rascal, knave

  2. a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.
  3. a person or thing considered to be the cause of something bad:

    Fear is the villain that can sabotage our goals.



villain

/ ˈvɪlən /

noun

  1. a wicked or malevolent person
  2. (in a novel, play, film, etc) the main evil character and antagonist to the hero
  3. humorous.
    a mischievous person; rogue
  4. slang:police.
    a criminal
  5. history a variant spelling of villein
  6. obsolete.
    an uncouth person; boor
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈvillainess, noun:feminine
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • sub·villain noun
  • under·villain noun
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of villain1

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English vilein, vilain “churlish rustic, serf,” from Middle French, from Vulgar Latin and Medieval Latin villānus “a farm servant, farmhand”; villa, -an
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of villain1

C14: from Old French vilein serf, from Late Latin vīllānus worker on a country estate, from Latin: villa
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But the fun that movie audiences have with narcissistic villains goes a long way towards explaining the hold that men like Musk and Trump have over their fans.

From Salon

Movies love superheroes that take on their villains with big-stage swagger.

"Julianna is the perfect villain to make me a hero," said Harrison.

From BBC

“Sirens” is a simple story that distracts the audience from recognizing the real villain, if we even choose one.

From Salon

What should the few remaining traumatically affected villains do about the drug crisis?

From Salon

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


villa homevillainage