English Explanatory Dictionary

villain

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A vile, wicked person.
  2. An extremely depraved person, or one capable or guilty of great crimes.
  3. A deliberate scoundrel.
  4. A low-born, abject person.
  5. A character who has the role of being bad, especially antagonizing the hero; an antagonist who is also evil or malevolent.
  6. Any opponent player, especially a hypothetical player for example and didactic purposes. Compare: hero (“the current player”).
  7. Archaic form of villein (“feudal tenant, peasant, serf”).
verb
  1. To debase; to degrade .

Pronunciation

/ˈvɪl.ən/ /ˈvɪl.jən/ en-us-villain.ogg

Word forms

villain villains villan villaining villained

Etymology

Probably from Middle English vilein, from Old French vilein (modern French vilain), in turn from Late Latin vīllānus, meaning serf or peasant, someone who is bound to the soil of a Latin vīlla, which is to say, worked on the equivalent of a plantation in late Antiquity, in Italy or Gaul. Doublet of villein. Compare typologically pagan (see more).

Synonyms

knave rascal scamp cad antimodel bad guy baddie bastard beggar blackguard bounder coistril evildoer fustilarian harlot heavy lidderon makeshift miscreant ne'er-do-well niding nithing rapscallion rogue scab scapegrace scoundrel scum scumbag thug undesirable varlet villain antagonist

Antonyms

hero

Related words

villein agent agonist antagonist protagonist bad badness jerk evil villainy

Derived words

anti-villain Bond villain chillin' like a villain James Bond villain pantomime villain supervillain villainess villainise villainize villain of the week villainy

Translations

Afrikaans: skurk Arabic: شِرِّير Armenian: չարագործ Belarusian: ліхадзе́й Bulgarian: злоде́й Catalan: vilà Chinese: хулюҗин Chinese Mandarin: 惡棍角色 /恶棍角色 Chinese Mandarin: 奸角 Chinese Mandarin: 反派 Czech: záporný hrdina Danish: skurk Dutch: slechterik Finnish: konna Finnish: roisto Finnish: pahis French: méchant Galician: vilán Georgian: ბოროტმოქმედი German: Bösewicht German: (fam) Oberböse German: Schurke Greek: κακός Hebrew: נָבָל Hindi: खलनायक Hungarian: gonosz Hungarian: gonosztevő Irish: bithiúnach Italian: il cattivo Japanese: 悪役 Kannada: ಪೋಕ Kannada: ಹೋಕ Kannada: ಪೋಕರಿ Kazakh: жауыз Korean: 악역 Korean: 악당 Latin: carnifex Latin: scelerātus Latin: persona negativa Macedonian: никаквец Macedonian: негати́вец Macedonian: злобник Malay: penjahat Malayalam: വഞ്ചകൻ Malayalam: ചതിയൻ Malayalam: കുറുക്കൻ Marathi: खलनायक Navajo: ájígaléidii Persian: بدذات Polish: czarny charakter Polish: złol Polish: złoczyńca Portuguese: vilão Romanian: spirit rău Romanian: viclean Romanian: răufăcător Russian: злоде́й Russian: отрица́тельный геро́й Serbo-Croatian: негати́вац Serbo-Croatian: negatívac Slovene: negativec Spanish: villano
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