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
The movie does attempt to gesture at class and race as thematic underpinnings (the maids trapped in The Virgil are mostly non-white, while the villains are rich Caucasians), but like the story and action at large, these go pretty much nowhere, and feel like obligatory symbols.
—
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Jack Balderrama Morley examines the beautiful, terrible, villains of reality television.
—Literary Hub, 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
This Dickensian narrative sprawl allows Mendonça Filho to render his villains in the same Technicolor.
—Michael Snyder, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
The villains of Enola Holmes, Old Queen Bess in The Golden Age, and Queen Anne’s leg in The Favourite all fester within its walls.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
On one level, the Nazis here are stereotypical adventure story villains, yet specific actual Nazi atrocities are discussed and the suffering of French citizens is deeply felt.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026
The villains in this TikTok trend are clear, with most of the videos poking fun at narcissistic, annoying, or outright delusional people that just seem to be an inescapable part of life these days.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2026
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Jack Balderrama Morley examines the beautiful, terrible, villains of reality television.
—Literary Hub, 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
This Dickensian narrative sprawl allows Mendonça Filho to render his villains in the same Technicolor.
—Michael Snyder, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
The villains of Enola Holmes, Old Queen Bess in The Golden Age, and Queen Anne’s leg in The Favourite all fester within its walls.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
On one level, the Nazis here are stereotypical adventure story villains, yet specific actual Nazi atrocities are discussed and the suffering of French citizens is deeply felt.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026
The villains in this TikTok trend are clear, with most of the videos poking fun at narcissistic, annoying, or outright delusional people that just seem to be an inescapable part of life these days.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 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
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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
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Traditional quest narratives, shaped by the hero’s journey, are tethered to swords, battles, monsters, and a troubling disregard for collateral damage.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Mar. 2026
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The biggest development was the discovery of an audio signal Regan could use to incapacitate the monsters.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That way, even if your data circulates, criminals have a harder time breaking in.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Mar. 2026
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By demanding justice and dignity for the drug-war dead, were nuns, priests, pastors, and other sympathizers not protecting criminals?—
Sheila Coronel,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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At the same time, Connecticut continues to pursue criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing incarceration and expanding diversionary opportunities for offenders.—
Keith Wortz,
Hartford Courant,
13 Mar. 2026
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The state's attorney's office is also trying to prevent deaths by requesting detention for felony domestic battery offenders at a much higher rate.—
Megan De Mar,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Other propaganda compared Native people to buffalo, cats, dogs, and devils.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
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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
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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 21 Mar. 2026.
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