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View synonyms for villain

villain

[vil-uhn]

noun

  1. a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel.

  2. a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.

  3. a person or thing considered to be the cause of something bad.

    Fear is the villain that can sabotage our goals.

  4. villein.



villain

/ ˈvɪlən /

noun

  1. a wicked or malevolent person

  2. (in a novel, play, film, etc) the main evil character and antagonist to the hero

  3. humorous,  a mischievous person; rogue

  4. slang:police,  a criminal

  5. history a variant spelling of villein

  6. obsolete,  an uncouth person; boor

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • villainess noun
  • subvillain noun
  • undervillain noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of villain1

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English vilein, vilain “churlish rustic, serf,” from Middle French, from Vulgar Latin and Medieval Latin villānus “a farm servant, farmhand”; villa, -an
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Word History and Origins

Origin of villain1

C14: from Old French vilein serf, from Late Latin vīllānus worker on a country estate, from Latin: villa
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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.

She found herself playing side characters, villains and mothers — never the glamorous romantic lead.

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“The heart of the show is that these are, were real people. They were a real family. They weren’t black mustache-twirling evil villains. They weren’t white knighted, incredibly heroic individuals,” he continued.

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One of the notable villains in the period I chronicled in “American Midnight” was Wilson’s attorney general in his second term, A. Mitchell Palmer.

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Can Rachel McAdams sue the attorney general for this half-baked theft of her iconic movie villain?

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The scene further cements Julian as the successor to his grandfather’s legacy and leaves the possibility open for his return as a villain in a future “Tron” installment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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