VILLAINS Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

villains

noun

plural of villain

as in brutes

a mean, evil, or unprincipled person only a heartless villain would kidnap a baby for ransom

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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 villains 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 There are no villains or scary scenes in this gentle story about a young witch finding her way in the world. — Anna Earl, Parents, 15 Oct. 2026 And even within a game, there are heroes and there are villains, and there’s conflict. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026 In a storm that had nothing to do with them, many have bought into the pantomime of it all, relishing their role as the arch villains of English soccer. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026 Audiences chose fictional villains over irl ones this weekend. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2026 The station is soon invaded by out-of-time baseball stars, fairytale villains, and unseasonal snow, all created by aliens eager to understand the concept of imagination. — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2026 We are presented with a few potentially hissable villains, including an attorney for the state (Christian Rubeck) who mocks the Gheorghius’ faith and a frostily inflexible social worker, Gunda (Ellen Dorrit Petersen). — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026 What all three films have in common, aside from various intersections and overlaps in their stories, is their repositioning of tech billionaires as the new screen villains. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for villains

Noun

These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.

— Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-skinned developing world.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of brutes

Noun

Yet the greatest of these monsters is Poseidon himself, the great disruptor, the earth-shaker and master of the stormy seas.

— Jeff DeGraff, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
First, as medical courier Bryan Hodukavich in Resident Evil, he was forced to contend with an onslaught of mutant zombie monsters.

— Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of monsters

Noun

That same month, criminals nabbed a $4 million diamond necklace from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).

— Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
For decades, Hollywood actor Danny Trejo’s bread and butter was playing gangsters, prison inmates and other assorted criminals.

— Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

The father pulls over, and the car is immediately swarmed over by bandits, who brutally kill him — plus his wife and two kids — with no mercy.

— Damon Wise, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026
In the decade of violent conflicts that followed, attacks on border towns and seizures of American property by revolutionaries and bandits prompted the United States to send two military expeditions into Mexico.

— Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

But as with any good Leonard story, the best moments come from the characters, a rogues’ gallery of violent ruffians and neurotic, duplicitous scoundrels.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
Players command Hawks, a former Republic officer, leading a customizable squad of diverse archetypes, including Jedi and scoundrels.

— Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of scoundrels

Browse Nearby Words

villainousness

villains

villainy

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“Villains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villains. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of villains

noun

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