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

Taylor and Pauly want to set the record straight about rattlesnakes, whose rep as evil or villainous serpents is undeserved, they say.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

They moved on to the titular boxer in "Creed," tormented by his father's legacy, and the villainous Killmonger of "Black Panther," traumatized by being an orphan in a racist world.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 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

There are big rocks in off the shore, craggy and black; they always look villainous in the dark of the evening.

From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

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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