VILLAINS Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

villains

noun

plural of villain

as in brutes

a mean, evil, or unprincipled person only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom

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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.

Recent Examples of villains Em details how Alan Rickman who played Hans Gruber, one of the most iconic villains in film history, offered director John McTiernan several key ideas that improved the film. — Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 That moment sealed his fate as one of the biggest Cubs villains in Cubs-Cardinals history. — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026 As this year’s San Diego Comic Con draws to a close, Marvel is collaborating with Hasbro to launch a special lineup of action figures in honor of the universe’s most iconic heroes and villains. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 26 July 2026 Just look at some of the controversies from the last few playoff matchups, and how players such as Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola became villains. — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 25 July 2026 In the comics, Sinestro was a former Green Lantern and mentor figure to Jordan, but the red-skinned alien flips and becomes one of Jordan’s greatest villains. — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 24 July 2026 The Modi government has portrayed the demonstrators as villains. — Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 20 July 2026 The premise is that the children of iconic Disney movie characters all live in the same world, with the spawn of villains having to make their own way in spite of their families' misdeeds. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 17 July 2026 With so many heroes and villains in its library, Disney obviously has a wealth of characters to mine from, but the aim is to be more strategic about which ones make the cut for Descendants. — Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for villains

Noun

These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.

— Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-skinned developing world.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of brutes

Noun

Over the last two seasons of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the titular demigod (Walker Scobell) has faced off against a minotaur, sailed to the sea of monsters, been chased by Cerberus, and even magically transformed into a guinea pig.

— Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 21 July 2026
With the franchise’s trademark blend of extreme gore and dark humor, the Evil Dead backstory centers on the ancient Book of the Dead that unleashes supernatural evil forces and twists victims into sadistic, shape-shifting, near-invincible monsters.

— Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 21 July 2026

Definition of monsters

Noun

That gives criminals several ways to target you, even when your Paidwork balance was nearly empty.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Cyber criminals are using highly convincing counterfeit audio, video, and identity fabrications as tools in ways that conventional detection methods will fail to identify.

— Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

The 152 rooms celebrate Tasmania’s cultural and creative spirit, from the contemporary paintings of thylacines and Tasmanian devils, to the Blackheart sassafras ceiling inlays.

— Riley Wilson, Travel + Leisure, 19 June 2026
But there are lots of potential devils in the details (otherwise there’d be little need for experimental reactors).

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026

Definition of devils

Noun

The plot is set in motion when dacoits (armed bandits) rob and murder Ram Lal, the village moneylender and head of Mano Majra’s only Hindu household.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 July 2026
Instead, most are romantic stories about young lovers separated by fate, and the rest are swashbuckling adventures full of bandits and pirates.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

And the surviving cartel scoundrels take the parting shot by kidnapping beloved Carter, putting a hood on him and taking the boy off.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 3 July 2026
New Orleans has long been notorious for embracing such scoundrels, a reputation that isn’t exactly helped by the fact that, for many years, disgraced attorneys who lost their licenses in Louisiana and applied for readmission to the bar often got it.

— Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026

Definition of scoundrels

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villainousness

villains

villainy

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“Villains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villains. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of villains

noun

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