villain

American  

[vil-uhn] / ˈvɪl ən /

noun

• villains
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• subvillain
  noun
• undervillain
  noun
• villainess
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• villains
  plural

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”; see origin at villa, -an

Explanation

A villain is a bad person — real or made up. In books, movies, current events, or history, the villain is the character who does mean, evil things on purpose. Today a villain is a wicked person, whether in fact or fiction. In the 1300s, villain described a low-born rustic. It came from the Medieval Latin word villanus, or farmhand. Just why a word would evolve from meaning farmer into evildoer is a little mysterious, although it probably has to do with farmers not being chivalrous, like the knights who were so admired in those days.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

villain villains

Thanks to skirmishes with Bordeaux-Begles in the Champions Cup, Pollock has pantomime villain status in the country.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

But only Curry could create the kind of monster Scott wanted – a villain emanating something more complex than evil.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

“The Jury found no fraud, no corruption and no mismanagement,” the grand jury reported, nor any “nefarious villain that the Jury can recommend going after.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

"I wanted a villain that was different," said director Chase, who was looking to create a charismatic demon.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

I think of what it means to make myself the villain of the piece.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

All villains and warriors have an Achilles’ heel, and for female roles in particular, it’s usually sacrificing themselves to protect their family.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Director Pedraza eventually has to cover other less feverish territory, namely the real plot behind Marfil’s kidnapping and the involvement of her father with Russians, who have come back into vogue as all-purpose villains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Should I have dressed preppier, like the quick-reflexed, collegiate fencing villains in the movies?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

Whether he was playing steely but likeable heroes or a chillingly menacing villains, Neill was one of the most versatile stars in the film industry and always commanded attention on screen.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

We would ride down villains who robbed stagecoaches or in other ways threatened damsels in distress, whom we could save and, of course, never kiss, but ride off at the end of our imagination.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

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