as in evil
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable
villainous behavior that made him one of the most notorious figures in history and gave rise to the legend of Dracula
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Recent Examples of villainous
One such force is the villainous cartoon Mr. Ring-a-Ding (voiced by Alan Cumming), who is shown breaking out of a movie theater screen to terrorize a 1950s audience.
—
Glenn Garner, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2025
With his versatile range, Hackman took on famous roles, from tough guy parts to villainous characters, heroes and even a coach.
—Stephanie Giang-Paunon, Fox News, 1 Mar. 2025
Quentin Tarantino's ultraviolent World War II fantasy gave the Austrian-German actor his villainous breakout role as Hans Landa, a Nazi baddie with an upper-crust cultural side.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
But with a handful of exceptions, the latter part of his career seemed to be a series of military men, villainous government officials and lawyers.
—Todd Leopold, CNN, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villainous
Glenn Garner, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2025
With his versatile range, Hackman took on famous roles, from tough guy parts to villainous characters, heroes and even a coach.
—Stephanie Giang-Paunon, Fox News, 1 Mar. 2025
Quentin Tarantino's ultraviolent World War II fantasy gave the Austrian-German actor his villainous breakout role as Hans Landa, a Nazi baddie with an upper-crust cultural side.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
But with a handful of exceptions, the latter part of his career seemed to be a series of military men, villainous government officials and lawyers.
—Todd Leopold, CNN, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for villainous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for villainous
Adjective
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Ben Stiller even makes a brief cameo as the evil nursing home orderly, Hal.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
18 Mar. 2025
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Through divine intervention, Prahlad survives the flames, while the evil sister, Holika, perishes.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Trump’s contrived veneer is being ripped away to reveal an immoral, mendacious, transactional opportunist, without a shred of loyalty to anyone or anything but himself.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Mar. 2025
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Before these studies, the cause of TB was presumed to be primarily constitutional, by either an inherent predisposition or from unhealthy or immoral lifestyles.—
Karen Dobos,
The Conversation,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Sullivan was arrested on charges of first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons and first-degree reckless endangerment.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
Fox News,
21 Mar. 2025
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He was charged with unlawful restraint and domestic battery.—
Clifford Ward,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Michelle Yeoh Yeoh may be in her villain era, but there's nothing sinful about her Louvre look.—
Edward Segarra,
USA TODAY,
5 Mar. 2025
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The dominant Christian theology of the Middle Ages held that wealth was inherently sinful in a world where most people toiled in terrible poverty.—
Brian Klaas,
The Atlantic,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This creates a vicious cycle: more applications lead to lower acceptance rates, triggering even more applications from worried students.—
Sarah Hernholm,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
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However, some people develop unhelpful habits and ways of thinking about sleep that create a vicious cycle, said Krieger, who is also director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The Oakland Jewish Alliance, a grassroots organization formed in the wake of these vile acts, has reported over 400 incidents of antisemitic graffiti around the Lake Merritt/Lakeshore neighborhoods in a one-year period.—
Mark Cohen,
The Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2025
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After West went on a series of vile antisemitic rants in the fall of 2022, Donda became collateral damage, with families pulling their children out and several teachers leaving.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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A lot of exposition about the wicked stepmother being done very rapidly here.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
21 Mar. 2025
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Steven Lorentz gave his team a 2-1 lead by firing a wicked wrist shot for a short-handed goal in the early third.—
Kevin Papetti,
The Athletic,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Same goes for Lady Gaga and her fire-red McQueen gown, which hit all the right notes of dark romance.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
23 Mar. 2025
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The couple even hires a nanny to care for the doll but shortly after her arrival, strange occurrences begin leading them down a dark path.—
Keith Langston,
People.com,
23 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Villainous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/villainous. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.
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