knave

noun

ˈnāv How to pronounce knave (audio)
Definition of knavenext
as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person he plays the role of the duplicitous knave who tries to foil the play's hero

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of knave Today, all too many of us risk becoming the prey of political tricksters and knaves. — Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026 The knights who always told the truth and the knaves who always lied. — Quanta Magazine, 20 Aug. 2026 Try for yourselves, ye witless knaves— Take each to bed your Sally! — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026 Many a knave is rich, sleek, and honored, while the just man is poor, hated, and in torment. — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 18 June 2026 Human beings are motivated by virtue (knights) or rigid self-interest (knaves), or are passive victims of their circumstances (pawns). — Sachin H. Jain, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knave
  1. villain
  2. brute
  3. devil
  4. monster
  5. savage
  6. scoundrel
Noun
  • Rival fans were quick to jump all over this fact, given that both the Panthers and the Tkachuk brothers were seen as polarizing villains throughout the NHL.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Is that the most difficult thing for you as the showrunner of a political show today — a president as a villain?
    — Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • Most sportsmen wonder how any whitetail bucks, let alone a brute such as Kontras’, could have been so easily patterned.
    — Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The show’s depiction of Hugh as a family man has been much more sympathetic than the book’s description of him as a power-hungry brute.
    — James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of brute
Noun
  • Behave yourself, buddy, or the little red devil will take you away!
    — Sanat Pai Raikar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Dostoyevsky’s sniveling devil comes closest to portraying the man chiefly responsible for organizing the Final Solution.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of devil
Noun
  • Diagnose the monster before deciding which mind and which move are required to outwit it.
    — Jeff DeGraff, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • That led him to snowy Deadwood, South Dakota, and a turn as local guide Gil Jackson in the horror heist movie Beast From Haunted Cave (1959), produced by Roger’s brother, Gene Corman, and featuring Chris Robinson as the monster.
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of monster
Noun
  • Perhaps if it had been marketed as a quirky arthouse film, critical expectations might have been tempered and the naysayers’ assessments a bit less savage.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The Danish director’s Pusher trilogy (which was restored and rereleased last year) had been handheld, hyperrealistic, and savage; Drive, on the other hand, was ethereal and moody, its characters submerged, their delivery precise.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of savage
Noun
  • There’s been bestselling books, podcasts, an Alex Gibney documentary, and an Emmy-winning series featuring Amanda Seyfried as the Silicon Valley scoundrel.
    — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, Frank Dillane plays Willoughby, Marianne’s love interest, with such commitment that the actor was surprised to learn his character is universally acknowledged to be a scoundrel.
    — Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of scoundrel

Browse Nearby Words

knapsacks
knave
knaveries
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Cite this Entry

“Knave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knave. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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