villainize
Americanverb (used with object)
Usage
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.
Etymology
Origin of villainize
First recorded in 1620–30; villain ( def. ) + -ize ( def. )
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.
We’ve been taught to fetishize our suffering and villainize our joy — that working toward a long-term goal should feel like work.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026
When “Yellowstone,” Sheridan’s first show, premiered in 2018, #MeToo was reverberating across television with producers waffling over whether to villainize or defend macho characters.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
“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.
From Salon • Aug. 28, 2025
“When it becomes a talking point like this, we dehumanize and villainize other human beings.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2024
“No. They probably would villainize you to justify it.”
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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.
