villainous

[ vil-uh-nuhs ]

adjective

1. having a cruel, wicked, malicious nature or character.
2. of, relating to, or befitting a villain:

   villainous treachery.

3. outrageously base, wicked, or vile:

   a villainous attack on his character.

4. very objectionable or unpleasant; bad; wretched:

   a villainous storm.

villainous

/ ˈvɪlənəs /

adjective

1. of, like, or appropriate to a villain
2. very bad or disagreeable

   a villainous climate

Derived Forms

• ˈvillainously, adverb
• ˈvillainousness, noun

Other Words From

• villain·ous·ly adverb
• villain·ous·ness noun
• non·villain·ous adjective
• non·villain·ous·ly adverb
• non·villain·ous·ness noun
• un·villain·ous adjective
• un·villain·ous·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of villainous¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; villain, -ous

Example Sentences

In one example, Han was approached by a marketing team working with Capcom’s “Resident Evil Village,” a horror-focused shooter starring the villainous vampire Lady Dimitrescu.

From Washington Post

That failure becomes increasingly villainous when you know simple solutions like housing vouchers exist to reverse the most dire foundational crisis for poor Americans.

From Time

Villainy gets even more complicated as a concept when we consider that, historically, the “villain” in any given story is villainous not because of something they do but because of something they are.

From Vox

It’s possible that a villainous Thunderbolts super-group could be in the works.

From Time

Set after the events of Half-Life, but before Half-Life 2, Alyx follows protagonist Alyx Vance as she attempts to rescue her father and uncover the secret of the villainous Combine’s newest weapon.

From Time

She is against the patriarchy, especially when personified in villainous ogres like the Duke of Deception.

From The Daily Beast

There are big rocks in off the shore, craggy and black; they always look villainous in the dark of the evening.

From The Daily Beast

So the man who plays the villainous Frank Underwood does have a lighter side after all.

From The Daily Beast

Surely there will be villainous pirates, distracting mermaids, tides change in the new open water chapter of my journey.

From The Daily Beast

And they face the absolute villain, Haman, from the absolute villainous family, Amalek.

From The Daily Beast

Upon a ship sailing along the shores of France were a man and his wife on their way to join a band of villainous people in India.

From Project Gutenberg

He was concerned with the villainous intrigues of Cerizet, his copy-clerk, and with Theodose de la Peyrade, the tricky lawyer.

From Project Gutenberg

Remembering what a scoundrel Garcia was, and what a villainous business Garcia had sent him upon, Coronado felt like smiling.

From Project Gutenberg

Coronado's first bullet knocked a villainous-looking tatterdemalion clean into the happy hunting grounds.

From Project Gutenberg

Goaded to desperation by his villainous servant, Herbert Murray turned upon the traitor and hurled him down the gravel pit.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• nefarious
• shady
• vile
• wicked