noun

villain

VIHL-uhn

noun

A wicked or evil character, especially the main antagonist in a story, film, or drama.

"The villain in the film was a corrupt businessman plotting to flood the valley."

"Everyone in the office started calling him the office villain after the scandal broke."

How to Use Villain

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe bad guy — a character or person who does wrong or causes harm.

Common mistake

Historically a villain just meant a peasant or farm labourer; the "evil person" sense only developed later. In modern English, always use it for the bad-guy sense.

Common pairings

play the villain the villain of the piece a cartoon villain

Word Forms

villained past tense, villains singular

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Fill the Gap

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The _____ in the film was a corrupt businessman plotting to flood the valley.

Etymology

From Old French vilein ("peasant, farmhand"), from Late Latin vīllānus, someone tied to working a country estate (villa). Its meaning shifted over centuries from simply "peasant" to "wicked person," as the upper classes came to see country folk as coarse or untrustworthy.

Rhymes for villain

ain rain pain lain gain main vain fain bain Iain Jain Cain

See all rhymes for villain →