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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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 The way it’s framed, both the heroes and the villains can only come from the tech community. — Rumman Chowdhury, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2026 There aren’t any villains here, just young people making young people mistakes and older people making older people mistakes. — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026 Others insulted them, settling into the familiar wrestling roles of heroes and villains before ever stepping between the ropes. — Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026 But Zidar and Zwick are more interested in understanding them than in portraying them as heroes or villains. — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026 Kicking ass in Cobra Kai, fighting villains in Blue Beetle and trying to dodge the Owens Curse in Practical Magic 2 is just another day in the office for Xolo Maridueña. — Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026 That approach forced Blake to abandon the sensibility that had characterized her work in television procedurals, where a lot of time is typically spent on the villains. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026 Not every comic-book story has to end with a brain-scrambling battle between gigantic armies of heroes and villains. — Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 8 Sep. 2026 There are no villains in Possible Love; there are only people who are aware of others, and people who are not. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Sep. 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

The main three projects — The Mummy, The Loudest Voice and Unabomber — each involve monsters in various forms.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2026
The world has seen many hurricanes rapidly intensify in recent years, strengthening from relatively weak storms into destructive monsters in a matter of hours.

— Chanh Kieu, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of monsters

Noun

The Financial Action Task Force, the global money-laundering watchdog, has warned that criminals exploit citizenship and residency programs to conceal their identities, launder illicit wealth and evade justice.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
In a world that escalated from criminals planning a heist to steal DVD players to flying in a rocketship to space, anything’s possible.

— Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

The prosecutor’s office stated that the Supreme Court could have applied a different interpretation of the law to ensure certain offenders remained on the public list.

— Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Wiener has passed laws protecting net neutrality, capping prescription costs and mandating mental health parity, ending mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, and requiring corporations disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.

— Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of offenders

Noun

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
Joining Prue is her classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), and the two enter a world of talking animals, bandits and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition.

— Mya Copeland, Variety, 7 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 11 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of villains

noun

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