villainous

[vil-uh-nuhs] / ˈvɪl ə nəs /

ADJECTIVE

criminal

Synonyms

STRONGEST

nefarious shady vile wicked

WEAK

atrocious bad corrupt crooked cruel culpable deplorable depraved diabolical dirty evil felonious hateful ignoble illegal illicit immoral iniquitous knavish lawless low mean peccant reprehensible scandalous sinful unlawful

Antonyms

STRONGEST

good honorable nice respectable

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Though the web series centres around women, Shah says they took care to ensure men in Chiraiya are not frothing-at-the-mouth villainous caricatures.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

The trailer goes on to tease snippets of a toy uprising, meant to take down the increasingly villainous screens.

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026

This is all to say that well before his villainous arc on “The Hills,” Pratt was willing to cross a few lines to get ahead.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026

But in her way are Amy Madigan for her wacky villainous turn in "Weapons" and Ariana Grande for her portrayal of Glinda in the blockbuster "Wicked: For Good."

From Barron's • Jan. 11, 2026

Up close, his scars made him appear more sympathetic than menacing or villainous.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Vocabulary lists containing villainous

Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"

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The Phantom Tollbooth

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One for the Murphys

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