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

Other Word Forms

• villainously adverb
• villainousness noun
• nonvillainous adjective
• nonvillainously adverb
• nonvillainousness noun
• unvillainous adjective
• unvillainously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of villainous¹

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

Example Sentences

Characters engaged in the show’s death games are neither entirely heroic nor villainous as they make decisions out of self-preservation that spell doom for their fellow players.

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If one side’s leader is a martyr, then the other side must be villainous.

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It did not play like the star-studded juggernaut or villainous evil empire or ascendant dynastic power the rest of the baseball world had labeled it to be.

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So far this year, she has starred in the nearly billion-dollar-grossing blockbuster hit “A Minecraft Movie” and voiced a villainous snow leopard in “The Bad Guys 2.”

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“In addition to all the villainous respects, it was important to him to have her be a living, breathing woman, wife and mother.”

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Related Words

• nefarious 
• shady 
• vile 
• wicked