as in brutes
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom
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Recent Examples of villains
But CFCs, the solution to an earlier problem, turned out to be villains in disguise.
—
Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
These measures are politically popular and ultra-wealthy Big Tech chiefs are easy villains.
—Catherine Thorbecke, Twin Cities, 28 Mar. 2026
There are no villains—or maybe life, or growing up, or getting older, is the villain.
—Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
But watching Ready or Not 2, which comes from returning directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, I was consumed with how quaint its characterization of its villains was.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
And the three main villains are impressively restrained compared to the cartoonish mustache twirlers that have populated previous takes.
—Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, the movie’s villains — played by recognizable faces, among them Heather Graham and Tom Felton — get pretty much zero by way of personality, or even superficial nastiness, making Asia’s reprisals a whole lot less entertaining.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Each ship name in the class has fed into a theme on board, with Wish tied to enchantment, Treasure to adventure and Destiny to heroes and villains.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2026
Rick and Danny come out looking like neither role models nor villains, but just two imperfect men brought together by the whims of fate and a sincere passion for their art.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 16 Mar. 2026
Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
These measures are politically popular and ultra-wealthy Big Tech chiefs are easy villains.
—Catherine Thorbecke, Twin Cities, 28 Mar. 2026
There are no villains—or maybe life, or growing up, or getting older, is the villain.
—Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
But watching Ready or Not 2, which comes from returning directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, I was consumed with how quaint its characterization of its villains was.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
And the three main villains are impressively restrained compared to the cartoonish mustache twirlers that have populated previous takes.
—Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, the movie’s villains — played by recognizable faces, among them Heather Graham and Tom Felton — get pretty much zero by way of personality, or even superficial nastiness, making Asia’s reprisals a whole lot less entertaining.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Each ship name in the class has fed into a theme on board, with Wish tied to enchantment, Treasure to adventure and Destiny to heroes and villains.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2026
Rick and Danny come out looking like neither role models nor villains, but just two imperfect men brought together by the whims of fate and a sincere passion for their art.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 16 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villains
Noun
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The psychology that Bryk wrote for these young men is the key as to why these brutes are more lovable than unbearable.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Credit to producers Tim Zinnemann and George Linder for selecting a veritable array of brutes to wage battle with Arnold.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
There's also aliens or monsters or some other supernatural entity out to get them.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Sometimes darkly humorous, sometimes strangely heartbreaking, this immersive storytelling experience is Edgar Allan Poe for the modern age; a heart-to-bleeding-heart with madmen, murderers and monsters all dying to tell their story.—
William Earl,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Cyber criminals linked to Iran have accessed FBI Director Kash Patel's personal email account, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
That convenience also gives criminals a perfect disguise.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Holmes qualified for the reduced term under a 2023 rule change allowing first-time offenders to do less time for some non-violent crimes, according to an order issued Thursday by the federal judge who sentenced her in 2022 for defrauding investors in her blood-testing startup.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
And many Democrats see it as an effort to curb more liberal prosecutors who have embraced restorative justice policies, including steering nonviolent offenders away from prison sentences or taking more lax approaches to drug offenses.—
Riley Bunch,
AJC.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Other propaganda compared Native people to buffalo, cats, dogs, and devils.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
-
There are sounds and shadows in the forest; the Devil, or devils, may be walking the earth.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Or Irish, in a time when they were seen as savages by the Englishmen?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Set against mountainous landscapes and rural lakes, the story follows a wandering swordsman who is falsely accused of stealing a shipment of gold and must unravel a web of intrigue involving bandits, palace guards and corrupt officials while attempting to clear his name.—
Lin Ying-Hsuan,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
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Alongside attacks by bandits, Nigeria is also plagued by an insurgency fought by the Boko Haram extremist group and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Political leaders who encourage or tolerate such scoundrels should be driven from office.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
23 Feb. 2026
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Giannis, a gentleman even in this era of scoundrels, likely wants to do right by the Bucks, too.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
3 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Villains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villains. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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