villainy
Americannoun
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the actions or conduct of a villain; outrageous wickedness.
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a villainous act or deed.
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Obsolete. villeinage.
noun
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conduct befitting a villain; vicious behaviour or action
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an evil, abhorrent, or criminal act or deed
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the fact or condition of being villainous
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English history a rare word for villeinage
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of villainy
1175–1225; Middle English vile ( i ) nie, vilainie < Old French. See villain, -y 3
Explanation
Villainy is a characteristic of being evil or wicked. A movie character's villainy is what makes him the bad guy, the one the audience roots against. You might be surprised to learn of your next door neighbor's villainy — if, say, he turned out to be a bank robber. In comic books, superheroes fight against villainy, battling the villains. Villainy, in fact, comes from villain, rooted in the Medieval Latin villanus, "farmhand." A villain was once a "peasant," then a "boor" or "clown," and finally a "scoundrel."
Vocabulary lists containing villainy
"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
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Much Ado About Nothing
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Flora and Ulysses
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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.
The scenes are the stuff of nightmares, and even villainy.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2026
Red herrings pop up and disappear, a climactic series of revelations indicates hidden villainy, and every detail feels ho-hum.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
Instead, “Welcome to Derry” allows the place’s homegrown villainy to speak for itself.
From Salon • Dec. 8, 2025
Tanja Ariane Baumgartner was a fascinating Kundry, her superficial villainy barely concealing her longing for redemption.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025
I know it, for now and then I hear a far-away muffled sound as of mattock and spade, and, whatever it is, it must be the end of some ruthless villainy.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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.
