as in brute
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of villain
Brand New Day also features several villains co-created by Conway.
—
Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2026
The script was set for a team that was embracing its role as the villain.
—Eduardo A. Encina, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
The film is considered a turning point in Indian cinema, moving away from purely evil villains to ones that show more complexity and shades of grey.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2026
The villain — who flew around inside a giant disco ball for no apparent reason — absorbed the Guardians’ powers and used them against the magical girl heroes.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for villain
Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2026
The script was set for a team that was embracing its role as the villain.
—Eduardo A. Encina, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
The film is considered a turning point in Indian cinema, moving away from purely evil villains to ones that show more complexity and shades of grey.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2026
The villain — who flew around inside a giant disco ball for no apparent reason — absorbed the Guardians’ powers and used them against the magical girl heroes.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for villain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villain
Noun
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This time the closing hole was a brute, the toughest at Harbour Town on Sunday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Apr. 2026
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And what better way to force that out of her than to put her up against a brute of a man who has all the confidence in the world?—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Not for Gage Goncalves, who set this thing in motion with a monster goal in overtime in the Lightning’s 1-0 Game 6 victory at the Bell Centre.—
John Romano,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 May 2026
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The titular monsters in this anthology series tend to do well at the Emmys (Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer and Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez were both nominated).—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
2 May 2026
Noun
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Lamont and other Democrats said the raises were well deserved because the state needs to recruit workers for difficult jobs that include prison guards dealing with dangerous criminals and social workers dealing with troubled families in the state Department of Children and Families.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
2 May 2026
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Even before his arrest, there were signs that the Emirates was becoming less tolerant toward major criminals.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Something is wrong at New Hyde, a malevolent devil or monster which attacks patients, including Pepper.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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While the movie has some fun asking whether people actually want to know everything about their partners (a devil’s bargain since time immemorial), its real interest lies in how that knowledge is colored by who shares it.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Streep’s beloved ice queen portrayal wasn’t as savage as the book, where the character was a British dictator in designer glasses.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
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One answer would be that the more savage the storm, the more urgent the need for safe havens.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Court records show Abugharbieh entered into a diversion program for first-time offenders charged with misdemeanors.—
Holly Ramer,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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Per the alert, surveillance footage showed that in each of the incidents, one offender gained access by breaking into several vehicle windows and then proceeding to remove valuable items inside the cars.—
Claire Murphy,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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New Orleans has long been notorious for embracing such scoundrels, a reputation that isn’t exactly helped by the fact that, for many years, disgraced attorneys who lost their licenses in Louisiana and applied for readmission to the bar often got it.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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Sure, the Oscar-winning makeup helps transform the actor into Cheney, but the voice and petulance are all Bale, whose conjuring of this scoundrel ought to trigger PTSD for anyone who survived the Dubya years.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Chelsea and City will meet in the FA Cup final after a beast of a hit from Nico Gonzalez (above) saw City through their semi against Southampton on Saturday.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Noah Centineo gives his beast mean mug while at Paramount Pictures' presentation at CinemaCon on April 16.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Villain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villain. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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