villain
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈvɪl.ən/
ipa: /ˈvɪl.jən/
rhymes: -ɪlən
homophone: villein
Forms: form: villains
form: villan
Etymology: Probably from Middle English vilein, from Old French vilein (modern French vilain), in turn from Late Latin vīllānus, meaning serf or peasant, someone who is bound to the soil of a Latin vīlla, which is to say, worked on the equivalent of a plantation in late Antiquity, in Italy or Gaul. Doublet of villein.
Senses: examples: text: Oh moſt pernicious woman! / Oh Villaine, Villaine, ſmiling damned Villaine!
ref: c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v], page 258, column 1:
text: Thou ly’ſt thou ſhagge-ear’d Villaine.
ref: c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii], page 145, column 2:
glosses: A vile, wicked person.
glosses: A vile, wicked person.
An extremely depraved person, or one capable or guilty of great crimes.
glosses: A vile, wicked person.
A deliberate scoundrel.
examples: text: Note the preſumption of this Scythian ſlaue:
I tel thee villaine, thoſe that lead my horſe
Haue to their names tytles of dignitie,
And dar’ſt thou bluntly cal me Baiazeth?
ref: c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:
glosses: A low-born, abject person.
examples: text: Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.
ref: 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
text: As The Dark Knight Rises brings a close to Christopher Nolan’s staggeringly ambitious Batman trilogy, it’s worth remembering that director chose The Scarecrow as his first villain—not necessarily the most popular among the comic’s gallery of rogues, but the one who set the tone for entire series.
ref: 2012 July 18, Scott Tobias, “The Dark Knight Rises”, in AV Club:
text: In some ways, it’s a relief to see tech bros, especially AI entrepreneurs, reach full, unambiguous movie-villain status.
ref: 2025 June 2, Adrian Horton, “Tech-bro satire Mountainhead is an insufferable disappointment”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
topics: fiction
literature
media
publishing
synonyms: antagonist
glosses: A character who has the role of being bad, especially antagonizing the hero; an antagonist who is also evil or malevolent.
examples: text: Let's discuss how to play if you are the chip leader (that is, if you have more chips than all the villains).
topics: card-games
poker
glosses: Any opponent player, especially a hypothetical player for example and didactic purposes. Compare: hero (“the current player”).
glosses: Archaic form of villein (“feudal tenant, peasant, serf”).
Synonyms: word: knave
word: rascal
word: scamp
word: cad
word: antimodel
word: bad guy
word: baddie
word: bastard
word: blackguard
word: bounder
word: coistril
word: evildoer
word: fustilarian
word: harlot
word: heavy
word: lidderon
word: makeshift
word: miscreant
word: ne'er-do-well
word: niding
word: nithing
word: rapscallion
word: rogue
word: scab
word: scapegrace
word: scoundrel
word: scum
word: scumbag
word: thug
word: undesirable
word: varlet
word: villain
Hypernyms: word: git
Hyponyms: word: anti-villain
word: brigand
word: chav
word: criminal
word: deceiver
word: troublemaker
word: supervillain
word: villainess
Derived terms: anti-villain
Bond villain
chillin' like a villain
James Bond villain
pantomime villain
supervillain
villainess
villainise
villainize
villain of the week
villainy
Related terms: word: villein
word: agent
word: agonist
word: antagonist
word: protagonist
word: bad
word: badness
word: jerk
word: evil
word: villainy