as in brute
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom
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Recent Examples of villain
But new life and civilizations await, including a villain that will test our characters’ grit and resolve.
—
James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 2 Apr. 2025
In this anime, when a mysterious villain threatens to open the gates of Hell, a devilishly handsome demon hunter could be the world’s best hope for salvation.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 31 Mar. 2025
Majors also played the mega villain He Who Remains in Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaia.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 26 Mar. 2025
As previously announced, Robert Downey Jr. will be back as the villain Doctor Doom instead of Iron Man.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villain
James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 2 Apr. 2025
In this anime, when a mysterious villain threatens to open the gates of Hell, a devilishly handsome demon hunter could be the world’s best hope for salvation.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 31 Mar. 2025
Majors also played the mega villain He Who Remains in Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaia.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 26 Mar. 2025
As previously announced, Robert Downey Jr. will be back as the villain Doctor Doom instead of Iron Man.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villain
Noun
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By the end of the episode, the audience is eager to meet the antihero, the brute, that everyone is talking about.—
Maelle Beauget-Uhl,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
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Slinging a sports coat over his pajamas, Long pulls up to a curb and finds Tay (Dustin Nguyen), the Vietnamese speaker, plus two silent brutes, Eddie (Phi Vu) and Aden (Dali Benssalah), who muscle into his car and take over everything: the seating arrangements, the air freshener and their driver.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The first major update, aptly titled Title Update 1, is set to be released later this week, and brings new monsters, new activities, and more for players of the game.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025
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White Painted Woman was a model of heroism and honorable womanhood: When evil monsters were hunting the Apache people, the White Painted Woman gave birth to a son who would destroy the creatures to help make Earth inhabitable for humanity.—
Alejandra Rubio,
NPR,
29 Mar. 2025
Noun
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To break the cycle of bias, Play devil’s advocate with yourself.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Fire in the birthing cabin, where another devil stands.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In the film, Martin Lawrence plays an FBI agent who has to go undercover as a larger-than-life grandma — the eponymous Big Momma — to track down an escaped criminal.—
William Earl,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2025
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Malik revealed that his goal was to practice law, specifically focusing on criminal law and personal injury and criminal.—
Francesca Gariano,
People.com,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Often regarded by historians as a collection of savage tribes, the Scythians emerge as a pivotal force of the ancient world in this monumental history.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2023
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Nearly 32 years ago, Rodney King’s savage beating by police in Los Angeles prompted heartfelt calls for change.—
Aaron Morrison, Claudia Lauer and Adrian Sainz,
Anchorage Daily News,
29 Jan. 2023
Noun
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This multi-drive mode beast has the ability to serve multi-purpose, from driving to work, haul the kids around, or be the weekend beast for all of your off-roading and camping needs.—
Marc D Grasso,
Hartford Courant,
29 Mar. 2025
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By many accounts, Planned Parenthood is an incurably sick beast whose time is nearing its end.—
Erik Baptist,
National Review,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The first episode was a huge departure for the series, starring Bradley Cooper as a Civil War-era scoundrel, ancestor to the Gemstones, and the main cast wasn’t there at all.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes,
16 Mar. 2025
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One thing was certain: Per its title, it was set in the demimonde of the galaxy far, far away, among its scoundrels, and smugglers, and bounty hunters and assorted other criminals.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Then one day, Moses the Black is struck with the horror of it all and joins a desert monastery, where he's eventually killed by another group of bandits.—
Marco della Cava,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2025
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Instead, her love interest is a charming bandit named Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), cut from the same cloth as the animated Flynn from Disney’s Tangled.—
Josh Spiegel,
The Hollywood Reporter,
22 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Villain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villain. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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