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 After all, the best myths take our normal heroes-and-villains binary and punt it into a million pieces. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 6 July 2026 Because many Black players and media members dislike her, many on the left have cast Clark and her fans as villains. — Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026 Maybe America was too busy wrestling with its own history of siding with the most despicable villains around? — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 July 2026 But the rub this time is the introduction of Varang (Oona Chaplin), an unhinged leader of a tribe who allies herself with human villains. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 July 2026 Short dramas are about big emotions and dramatic reversals; the heroes and villains are generally clearly delineated. — Lavender Au, The Dial, 30 June 2026 Together, the band brings to life a mythic world of ancient heroes and villains, attracting an excited audience of headbangers and fantasy fanatics, many of whom show up in costume. — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 29 June 2026 Michael Byrne, the English actor who portrayed key villains in the Indiana Jones and Harry Potter movies, has died. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 30 June 2026 In the public discourse, data centers have largely been cast as the villains of the AI boom—voracious consumers of natural resources that power our chatbots but threaten our climate progress. — Sasha Luccioni, Time, 3 July 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

Alas, a win feels pretty far away as of the season four finale, in which Sophia removes the only protection the town has against the monsters.

— Josh Wigler, HollywoodReporter, 6 July 2026
In Homer’s Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus must overcome tempests, temptations, mythical monsters, and divine wrath to sail home to the island of Ithaca after the Trojan War.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 July 2026

Definition of monsters

Noun

Supporters will argue that criminals should not be able to hide behind wallets.

— Susie Violet Ward, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
And just like Alito, some members of my family have forgotten our history and support Trump or favor some of his immigration policies, dismissing new arrivals as criminals or lazy.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

Independence Day celebrations come in the most challenging threat environment since 9/11, with the ongoing terror threat, a rise in political violence and continuing fears about lone-wolf offenders, according to Raia.

— Luke Barr, ABC News, 3 July 2026
There were also concerns listed in the analysis that the registry, which dates back to 1947, could include LGBTQ+ offenders from decades ago who were convicted of offenses that are no longer crimes.

— Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026

Definition of offenders

Noun

The 152 rooms celebrate Tasmania’s cultural and creative spirit, from the contemporary paintings of thylacines and Tasmanian devils, to the Blackheart sassafras ceiling inlays.

— Riley Wilson, Travel + Leisure, 19 June 2026
But there are lots of potential devils in the details (otherwise there’d be little need for experimental reactors).

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026

Definition of devils

Noun

Instead, most are romantic stories about young lovers separated by fate, and the rest are swashbuckling adventures full of bandits and pirates.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026
Fantastical adventures ensue as the pair encounter a mysterious woman, Alexandra, who has lost her son, along with coyotes, bandits, and some pretty big secrets.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 29 June 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

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
Political leaders who encourage or tolerate such scoundrels should be driven from office.

— Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 23 Feb. 2026

Definition of scoundrels

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villainousness

villains

villainy

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“Villains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villains. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of villains

noun

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