villain

[ vil-uhn ]
/ ˈvɪl ən /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR villain ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel.
a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.
villein.

Origin of villain

1275–1325; Middle English vilein, vilain < Middle French < Late Latin villānus a farm servant. See villa, -an

OTHER WORDS FROM villain

sub·vil·lain, noun un·der·vil·lain, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH villain

villain villein

Words nearby villain

village community, villager, villagery, villagization, villahermosa, villain, villain of the piece, the, villainage, villainess, villainize, villainous

Words related to villain

devil, criminal, scoundrel, antihero, sinner, malefactor, reprobate, brute, offender, evildoer, miscreant, rascal, libertine, mischief-maker, caitiff, creep, blackguard, wretch, heel, profligate

Example sentences from the Web for villain

British Dictionary definitions for villain

villain
/ (ˈvɪlən) /

noun

a wicked or malevolent person
(in a novel, play, film, etc) the main evil character and antagonist to the hero
often jocular a mischievous person; rogue
British police slang a criminal
history a variant spelling of villein
obsolete an uncouth person; boor

Derived forms of villain

villainess, fem n

Word Origin for villain

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