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
As a coach sometimes you have to be the bad guy.—Ed Jovanovski, quoted in Sports Illustrated
Ed Jovanovski, quoted in Sports IllustratedParenting 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
But Nus is a bad guy through and through.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 13 Feb. 2026
The same goes for the long-suffering wife who has finally had it with her detective husband’s obsession over catching bad guys.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2026
His live-wire performance, seemingly inspired by numerous previous screen depictions of psychopathic bad guys, infuses the proceedings with welcome kinetic energy.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
And Nik's not a bad guy, either.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bad guy
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 13 Feb. 2026
The same goes for the long-suffering wife who has finally had it with her detective husband’s obsession over catching bad guys.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2026
His live-wire performance, seemingly inspired by numerous previous screen depictions of psychopathic bad guys, infuses the proceedings with welcome kinetic energy.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
And Nik's not a bad guy, either.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
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 16 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
