villain
Americannoun
-
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:
“Jean. I like Jean,” he responds, “she’s the villain but, like, there’s a reason to her madness.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
She may be a killer, but she isn’t the villain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Over his 23-year career in the NBA, LeBron James has been a hero and a villain, a savior and a traitor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The character's story begins when he becomes bound to the Spirit of Vengeance Zarathos after making a deal with villain Mephisto to spare his surrogate father, giving him superpowers.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Was Hamlet, too, an actor in Claudius’s malevolent plot, forced into the role of villain on the stage of his mother’s room?
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
There are no villains here, just a group of super-fit college grads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
"So I'm not involved in heroes and villains - this was total system failure."
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Some imagine the ICC to be a judicial superhero, dispensing justice to arch villains around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
After all, the “Toy Story” franchise has had pure villains before — one of them almost got away with incinerating the toys for good!
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
Even by the standards of Wall Street villains whose character flaws wind up being exaggerated to fit the crime, Cassano, in the retelling, became a cartoon monster.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
