bad guy
noun
1
informal
: the villain in a story : baddie
played the bad guy in the movie
2
informal
: someone who is likened to the villain in a story: such as
a
: a criminal
Designed to keep guns out of the hands of bad guys and children …—
Popular Science
Popular Science
b
: a military enemy
… a decision that owes more to parochial conflicts within the Armed Forces than to doing the best job of surveilling bad guys.—Stuart F. Brown
Stuart F. Brown
c
: someone who deserves to be blamed or criticized for causing a bad situation
Meanwhile, it's the environmentalists who are now portrayed as the bad guys, hiring lots of lawyers, consorting with congressmen …—Eric Alterman
Eric Alterman
d
: a person who treats other people harshly or strictly : a person who says or does unpopular things
Parenting isn't just about having beautiful kids and being busy. It's about dealing with problems, and your success as a parent depends on your willingness to be the bad guy. If you aren't willing to be the bad guy, you shouldn't be a parent.—Roy Bragg
Roy BraggExamples of bad guy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Setting Up Kurt Angle As Babyface At the same time, Kurt Angle, who was a really good bad guy, became Austin's friend.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2025
The real trouble only starts when Jenny, the boss’ 19-year-old daughter (Arianna Rivas), is abducted by an eccentric pair of bad guys (Emmett J Scanlan and Eve Mauro as Viper and Artemis, radiating a real Team Rocket vibe) during a bar crawl with her friends.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 26 Mar. 2025
The idea that Robert Downey Jr. should play one of Marvel’s ultimate bad guys predates his tenure as one of its ultimate good guys.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2025
This is a cop novel that fully satisfies its genre expectations — chases, gun battles, sinister bad guys, questionable cops, cowards and heroes.
—Claude Peck, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bad guy
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Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2025
The real trouble only starts when Jenny, the boss’ 19-year-old daughter (Arianna Rivas), is abducted by an eccentric pair of bad guys (Emmett J Scanlan and Eve Mauro as Viper and Artemis, radiating a real Team Rocket vibe) during a bar crawl with her friends.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 26 Mar. 2025
The idea that Robert Downey Jr. should play one of Marvel’s ultimate bad guys predates his tenure as one of its ultimate good guys.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2025
This is a cop novel that fully satisfies its genre expectations — chases, gun battles, sinister bad guys, questionable cops, cowards and heroes.
—Claude Peck, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bad guy
Cite this Entry
“Bad guy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bad%20guy. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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