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
Another Hollywood veteran who plays bad guys with ease, Trejo has been made appearances in Walker, Texas Ranger, From Dusk Till Dawn, Machete, The Last Exorcist and more.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
While the first episode of the show is very much a military thriller, with our heroes taking on ISIS bad guys in Mosul, Iraq, the rest of the show veers off in another direction entirely.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Dubas isn’t a bad guy for orchestrating a rebuild on his terms.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
But there are some good supporting turns, starting with Henry, Tony’s main Interpol contact, who appears from early episodes to be a good guy the leads are mistaking for a bad guy, although nothing is completely conclusive there right away.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bad guy
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Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
While the first episode of the show is very much a military thriller, with our heroes taking on ISIS bad guys in Mosul, Iraq, the rest of the show veers off in another direction entirely.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Dubas isn’t a bad guy for orchestrating a rebuild on his terms.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
But there are some good supporting turns, starting with Henry, Tony’s main Interpol contact, who appears from early episodes to be a good guy the leads are mistaking for a bad guy, although nothing is completely conclusive there right away.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Sep. 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 20 Sep. 2025.
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