bad actor
Americannoun
-
a mean, ill-tempered, troublemaking, or evil person.
-
a vicious animal.
-
an inveterate criminal.
Etymology
Origin of bad actor
First recorded in 1940–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No one is a bad actor here—these are great athletes wanting to compete, and coaches are rewarded to win.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
If a bad actor -- or even an electromagnetic storm -- disrupted enough satellites, GPS-based navigation would fail.
From Science Daily • Jan. 8, 2026
The other problem here, of course, is that your cousin’s estranged husband is, by your account, a bad actor.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 16, 2025
And it was always easy to spot a bad actor.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2025
He had looked strangely comical, like a bad actor auditioning for a solemn part in a play.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
