Word
villainous
Phoneticsvil·lain·ous
US/ˈvɪɫənəs/
UK/vˈɪlənəs/
Definition
adj. describing someone who is very mean, cruel, or dishonest. You use this to talk about a character in a story who does bad things, or a person who acts in a bad way.
adj. characterised by extreme wickedness, cruelty, or dishonesty. Often used to describe fictional antagonists or real-life individuals with a reputation for malevolence.
Examples
“The movie features a villainous character who steals the treasure.”
“The villainous plot involves a secret society that plans to destroy the city's power grid.”
“The protagonist must navigate a villainous web of lies and betrayal to uncover the truth behind the corporate scandal.”
Examples
simple
“The movie features a villainous character who steals the treasure.”
contextual
“The villainous plot involves a secret society that plans to destroy the city's power grid.”
complex
“The protagonist must navigate a villainous web of lies and betrayal to uncover the truth behind the corporate scandal.”
Real-World Examples
“In Shakespeare’s King Lear , the character of Edmund commits a range of villainous acts: he forges letters, frames his brother, betrays his father, and eventually goes as far as having innocent people killed.” Etymology
From Middle English vileinous, from Old French vileneus. By surface analysis, villain + -ous.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
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englishreference.com/q/villainous