villain
Americannoun
-
villains
plural
-
a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel.
- Synonyms:
- scamp, rogue, rapscallion, rascal, knave
-
a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.
-
a person or thing considered to be the cause of something bad.
Fear is the villain that can sabotage our goals.
noun
-
a wicked or malevolent person
-
(in a novel, play, film, etc) the main evil character and antagonist to the hero
-
humorous a mischievous person; rogue
-
slang:police a criminal
-
history a variant spelling of villein
-
obsolete an uncouth person; boor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing villain
"Black Panther" Lingo
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Superhero Lexicon
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Fairly quickly, these accounts moved to looking for a villain.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026
Musk, in particular, does have reasons to empathize with the “Star Wars” villain.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026
"Clayface," a gory Batman villain origin story from Warner Bros. and DC Comics, finished a close second with $10.4 million.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
Harley’s journey to becoming a villain is tied to her romantic relationship with the Joker, who has not yet been introduced.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
“That villain has the strength of ten!” said the bard.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
His long and distinguished résumé of creeps, oddballs and villains lends a deep foundation to this role.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
There are no villains in this piece — only two people who want to be right.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
It’s shaping up to be a dark autumn for Silicon Valley’s villains.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
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
“Did you listen to yourself? You were half a second away from saying we’re the villains in our story!”
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
