villain

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vil·lain

(vĭl′ən)

1. A wicked or evil person; a scoundrel.

2. A dramatic or fictional character who is typically at odds with the hero.

3. (also vĭl′ān′, vĭ-lān′) Variant of villein.

4. Something said to be the cause of particular trouble or an evil: poverty, the villain in the increase of crime.

5. Obsolete A peasant regarded as vile and brutish.

[Middle English vilein, feudal serf, person of coarse feelings, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *vīllānus, feudal serf, from Latin vīlla, country house; see weik- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

villain

(ˈvɪlən)

1. a wicked or malevolent person

2. (in a novel, play, film, etc) the main evil character and antagonist to the hero

3. often jocular a mischievous person; rogue

4. police slang Brit a criminal

5. (Historical Terms) history a variant spelling of villein

6. obsolete an uncouth person; boor

[C14: from Old French vilein serf, from Late Latin vīllānus worker on a country estate, from Latin: villa]

ˈvillainess fem n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

vil•lain

(ˈvɪl ən)

n.

1. a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel.

2. a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.

3. villein.

[1275–1325; < Middle French < Late Latin villānus a farm servant]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	villain - a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately scoundrel unwelcome person, persona non grata - a person who for some reason is not wanted or welcome blackguard, bounder, cad, hound, heel, dog - someone who is morally reprehensible; "you dirty dog" gallows bird - a person who deserves to be hanged knave, rapscallion, rascal, rogue, varlet, scalawag, scallywag - a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel villainess - a woman villain
	2.	villain - the principal bad character in a film or work of fiction baddie persona, theatrical role, role, character, part - an actor's portrayal of someone in a play; "she played the part of Desdemona"

villain

noun

1. evildoer, criminal, rogue, profligate, scoundrel, wretch, libertine, knave (archaic), reprobate, miscreant, malefactor, blackguard, rapscallion, caitiff (archaic) As a copper, I've spent my life putting villains like him away.

2. baddy (informal), antihero Darth Vader, the villain of the Star Wars trilogy
baddy hero, heroine, goody

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

villain

noun

A mean, worthless character in a story or play:

Slang: heavy.

Translations

نَذْل، وَغْدوَغْد

darebákzlosyn

skurkslyngel

Bösewicht Schurke

αχρείος

villano malo

roisto

méchant scélérat canaille gredin gueux

negativac

òorpari

furfante il cattivo malvagio pezzente

悪党

악한

nelietis

злодей злодейка негодяй

zlosyn

hudobnež

skurk

ตัวชั่วร้าย

hainkötü adam

kẻ ác

恶棍坏人

villain

[ˈvɪlən] N

1. (= wrongdoer) → maleante mf, delincuente mf

2. (hum) (= rascal) → bribón/ona m/f, tunante/a m/f

3. (in novel, film) → malo/a m/f
the villain of the piece is Malone (hum) → el malo de la historia es Malone

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

villain

[ˈvɪlən] n

(in novel, film, play) → méchant m
He was cast as the villain → Il avait le rôle du méchant.

(= scoundrel) → scélérat m

(= criminal) → bandit m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

villain

(= scoundrel) → Schurke m, → Schurkin f; (inf: = criminal) → Verbrecher(in) m(f), → Ganove m (inf)

(in drama, novel) → Bösewicht m

(inf: = rascal) → Bengel m; he’s the villain of the piece → er ist der Übeltäter

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

villain

[ˈvɪlən] n → mascalzone m (hum) (rascal) → briccone/a; (scoundrel) → canaglia; (in novel, film) → cattivo (fam) (criminal) → delinquente m

villain

(ˈvilən) noun

a person who is wicked or of very bad character. the villain of the play/story.

ˈvillainous adjective

ˈvillainy – plural ˈvillainies – noun

(an instance of) wickedness. His villainy was well known.

villain

→ وَغْد darebák skurk Bösewicht αχρείος villano roisto méchant negativac furfante 悪党 악한 schurk kjeltring łajdak vilão злодей skurk ตัวชั่วร้าย hain kẻ ác 恶棍

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References in classic literature ?

Some of the author's friends cryed, "Look'e, gentlemen, the man is a villain, but it is nature for all that." And all the young critics of the age, the clerks, apprentices, &c., called it low, and fell a groaning.

Now we, who are admitted behind the scenes of this great theatre of Nature (and no author ought to write anything besides dictionaries and spelling-books who hath not this privilege), can censure the action, without conceiving any absolute detestation of the person, whom perhaps Nature may not have designed to act an ill part in all her dramas; for in this instance life most exactly resembles the stage, since it is often the same person who represents the villain and the heroe; and he who engages your admiration to-day will probably attract your contempt to-morrow.

A single bad act no more constitutes a villain in life, than a single bad part on the stage.

The worst of men generally have the words rogue and villain most in their mouths, as the lowest of all wretches are the aptest to cry out low in the pit.

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They encouraged the struggling hero with cries, and jeered the villain, hooting and calling attention to his whiskers.

The last act was a triumph for the hero, poor and of the masses, the representative of the audience, over the villain and the rich man, his pockets stuffed with bonds, his heart packed with tyrannical purposes, imperturbable amid suffering.

The latter spent most of his time out at soak in pale-green snow storms, busy with a nickel-plated revolver, rescuing aged strangers from villains.

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Can you pity my weakness if I confess to having felt a pang at my heart when I read that part of your letter which calls Frank a coward and a villain? Nobody can despise me for this as I despise myself.

View in context

Nay, had the villains glanced aside into the spring, even they would hardly have known themselves as reflected there.

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The first few episodes will build towards the event, and the fans will begin to understand why the new villain was chosen by the time they get to episode 5.

'The Flash' Season 6: There Will Be Two Villains

Waltz first featured in James Bond franchise 'Spectre' as the iconic villain who was previously played by Donald Pleasance, Max von Sydow and Telly Savalas in previous installments of the franchise.