bad guy
noun
1
informal
: the villain in a story : baddie
played the bad guy in the movie
2
informal
: someone who is likened to the villain in a story: such as
a
: a criminal
Designed to keep guns out of the hands of bad guys and children …—
Popular Science
Popular Science
b
: a military enemy
… a decision that owes more to parochial conflicts within the Armed Forces than to doing the best job of surveilling bad guys.—Stuart F. Brown
Stuart F. Brown
c
: someone who deserves to be blamed or criticized for causing a bad situation
Meanwhile, it's the environmentalists who are now portrayed as the bad guys, hiring lots of lawyers, consorting with congressmen …—Eric Alterman
Eric Alterman
d
: a person who treats other people harshly or strictly : a person who says or does unpopular things
Parenting isn't just about having beautiful kids and being busy. It's about dealing with problems, and your success as a parent depends on your willingness to be the bad guy. If you aren't willing to be the bad guy, you shouldn't be a parent.—Roy Bragg
Roy BraggExamples of bad guy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Editor’s picks Because the dead man was Shula’s Uncle Fred — and Uncle Fred was a bad guy.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2025
When big-time bad guy and former mob boss Wilson Fisk (D’Onofrio) decides to pursue political office as mayor, however, their past identities collide, reigniting the good versus evil battle in Hell's Kitchen.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2025
Same goes for having an intrauterine device (IUD); research suggests that copper ones, specifically, might restrict the growth of good bacteria relative to bad guys, predisposing you to BV, while portions of any IUD could also act as spaces for yeast to multiply.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 27 Feb. 2025
Reacher in Season 3 of the Prime Video hit has his XL hands full with not one or two but three different bad guys.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bad guy
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David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2025
When big-time bad guy and former mob boss Wilson Fisk (D’Onofrio) decides to pursue political office as mayor, however, their past identities collide, reigniting the good versus evil battle in Hell's Kitchen.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2025
Same goes for having an intrauterine device (IUD); research suggests that copper ones, specifically, might restrict the growth of good bacteria relative to bad guys, predisposing you to BV, while portions of any IUD could also act as spaces for yeast to multiply.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 27 Feb. 2025
Reacher in Season 3 of the Prime Video hit has his XL hands full with not one or two but three different bad guys.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bad guy
Cite this Entry
“Bad guy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bad%20guy. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.
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