villainize

[vil-uh-nahyz]

verb (used with object)

villainized, villainizing 

1. to speak ill of; disparage; vilify.

   to villainize the wealthy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of villainize¹

First recorded in 1620–30; villain ( def. ) + -ize ( def. )

Example Sentences

“Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community or any other community out there has lost their sense of common humanity,” he said at a press conference.

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Yet, remarkably, they don’t villainize these figures who, no matter how hard they try, can’t seem to say the right thing.

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If we can all agree that we are going to respect one another, and we are going to listen and maybe agree to disagree and not villainize the person that may not see life as you see it — that is something we can all do.

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DHS spokeswoman wrote in a statement that any such allegations are “disgusting and categorically FALSE,” and “These type of smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE law enforcement.”

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When an economic downturn hit San Francisco in the 1870s, white people blamed Chinese immigrants for stealing their jobs and began to villainize opium, a substance associated with the Chinese community.

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Related Words

• besmirch 
• denigrate 
• disparage 
• insult 
• misrepresent 
• revile 
• smear 
• sully 
• taint 
• tarnish 
• vilify 

When To Use

What does villainize mean?

To villainize someone is to speak about them negatively or portray them in a negative way, especially to influence others to see them as a bad person.Most often, it is individual people who are villainized, typically by someone who says bad things about them (especially things that are exaggerated). However, groups and other things can also be villainized.Example: Mary tried to villainize Joe before the student council election by telling everyone that he had been rude to her after the debate.