as in brute
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of villain
Also, shoutout to Zoe for being an early-season villain who makes it to the Fantasy Suites!
—
Ali Barthwell, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2025
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow cast Milly Alcock in the title role, with Matthias Schoenaerts playing villain Krem of the Yellow Hills and Eve Ridley as Ruthye Marye Knoll.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 10 Mar. 2025
Comments The cast of RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 previously promised that Arrietty — Seattle's evil fashion elf — was the undisputed villain of the season.
—EW.com, 8 Mar. 2025
Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
—Susan Montoya Bryan, arkansasonline.com, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villain
Ali Barthwell, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2025
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow cast Milly Alcock in the title role, with Matthias Schoenaerts playing villain Krem of the Yellow Hills and Eve Ridley as Ruthye Marye Knoll.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 10 Mar. 2025
Comments The cast of RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 previously promised that Arrietty — Seattle's evil fashion elf — was the undisputed villain of the season.
—EW.com, 8 Mar. 2025
Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
—Susan Montoya Bryan, arkansasonline.com, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villain
Noun
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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
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The same Cromwellian brutes that persecuted witches in the English village of Warboys in 1589 are alive and well today to bully LGBTQ folks, immigrants, physicians trying to save lives of pregnant women and even scientists like Dr. Anthony Fauci.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Potgieter is usually a monster off the tee, leading the tour in driving distance coming into the week.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
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The soldiers, both in the streets and at guard posts, fired their weapons, trying to prevent the moon from being eaten by a mythical monster frog called Reahou.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
6 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The closing scene is Trump relaxing on a sun lounger next to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is widely portrayed as a devil in Gaza.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
26 Feb. 2025
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At that point, Taiwan’s survival would depend entirely on U.S. military warships and aircraft rapidly arriving and entering into the conflict—a massive gamble for Taipei and a devil’s choice for the United States.—
Jennifer Kavanagh,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Only criminal hacking is a crime, and not all hackers are criminals.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
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Officers says there are many reasons people use fake plates: criminals hoping to avoid being tracked by law enforcement, evading fines on toll roads, or people trying to find a way to drive without a driver’s license or insurance.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Mar. 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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The music inspires its creatures, and vice versa — like the Altamaha-ha, a legendary water beast that hails from stories told around the Altamaha River in Georgia.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
6 Mar. 2025
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At his peak, Bosa was a beast to keep out of opponents’ backfields.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Orange County Register,
6 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Giacomo Casanova, who lived from 1725 to 1798, was a lawyer, a writer, an adventurer, a gambler and a scoundrel who found himself on the wrong side of the law.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
The Denver Post,
20 Jan. 2025
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Now that movie’s writer-director, Leigh Whannell, has returned to bring another classic fiend into the 21st century, with Poor Things scoundrel Christopher Abbott as a family man who starts feeling a little hairy after a full-moon encounter at his childhood home.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Matt Dillon as Bob Hughes, lead junkie bandit of Drugstore Cowboy would also slot right in now, as would the late River Phoenix as conflicted hustler Mike Waters in Idaho.—
Matt Thompson,
SPIN,
3 Feb. 2025
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Want to try and take on a bandit camp but don’t want to risk dying?—
George Yang,
Rolling Stone,
3 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Villain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villain. Accessed 19 Mar. 2025.
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