villain

American  

[vil-uhn] / ˈvɪl ən /

noun

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

   Synonyms:

   scamp, rogue, rapscallion, rascal, knave

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.

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villain British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• subvillain noun
• undervillain noun
• villainess noun

Etymology

Origin of villain

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

Example Sentences

I tell her that I let him make her the villain.

From Literature

The details differ, but the impulse is the same: a search for villains who make anger feel justified.

From The Wall Street Journal

If the plate umpire goes, with it goes one of baseball’s most entertaining/maddening presences–a puff-chested judge and jury, a baked-in villain, an essential part of the game’s pacing and flow.

From The Wall Street Journal

Newman became one of reality television’s more memorable villains thanks to her run on “The Apprentice,” where her Machiavellian ways and unapologetic ambition revolted viewers and impressed her fake boss.

From Los Angeles Times

His grandiose persona rubbed many the wrong way early on, earning him a villain label.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• antihero
• bad guy
• baddie
• baddy
• criminal
• devil
• scoundrel
• sinner