villainousness

noun

Definition of villainousnessnext
as in evil

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for villainousness
  1. evil
  2. sinfulness
  3. vileness
  4. heinousness
  5. evilness
  6. badness
  7. villainy
  8. viciousness
Noun
  • Commissioned by Mattel as a blatant weekly half-hour commercial for its popular toy line, the show pits He-Man and his heroic chums against the evil (but strangely inept) Skeletor in a battle for control of Castle Grayskull.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 5 July 2026
  • During the War for Independence, the tribe saw the British as the lesser of two evils.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 3 July 2026
Definition of evil
Noun
  • But soon after, in Genesis 18, God tells Abraham of plans to investigate reports of sinfulness in Sodom and Gomorrah.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026
  • Denver author Josiah Hesse was raised by Evangelical parents in churches that believe in the torments of hell, that their poverty is due to their sinfulness and lack of faith.
    — Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
Definition of sinfulness
Noun
  • Many have used numbers and moral philosophy to fathom the vileness of slavery in America, for example.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026
Definition of vileness
Noun
  • The case has captured the nation's attention for several reasons over the years, from the heinousness of the charges and the 1,000 survivors to questions about Epstein's connections to the rich and powerful, including the president.
    — Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 19 Dec. 2025
Definition of heinousness
Noun
  • That was really what helped me into the character and into her evilness.
    — William Earl, Variety, 4 Oct. 2025
Definition of evilness
Noun
  • On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder.
    — Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2026
  • The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Definition of badness
Noun
  • On any other man, this level of villainy could be mustache-twirling and cartoonish.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 4 June 2026
  • If there was a pop culture gallery of villainy, the portrait of Regina George would occupy a prominent place.
    — David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2026
Definition of villainy
Noun
  • The jury further determined that the crimes involved a threat of great bodily harm and demonstrated a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness, the district attorney's office said.
    — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 18 June 2026
  • The expediency of their exchanges (back and forth over a couple of weeks) electrified the planet, especially the mounting viciousness of Lamar’s attack (ad hominem all the way).
    — New York Times, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
Definition of viciousness
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.

Browse Nearby Words

villainously
villainousness
villains
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Villainousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villainousness. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All