50 Ways To Say Villain

If you’re writing about a villain, read this post. We include 50 ways to say villain.

What Is A Villain?

According to Wikipedia, ‘The villain’s structural purpose is to serve as the opposite to the hero character, and their motives or evil actions drive a plot along.^[3] In contrast to the hero, who is defined by feats of ingenuity and bravery and the pursuit of justice and the greater good, a villain is often defined by their acts of selfishness, evilness, arrogance, cruelty, and cunning, displaying immoral behavior that can oppose or pervert justice.’

If you’re writing about a villain read these posts.

1. 5 Famous Writers On Writing A Villain
2. The Dark Tetrad: 4 Qualities The Worst Villains Possess
3. 3 Dastardly Different Villains & Why We Love To Hate Them
4. 7 Deadly Rules For Creating A Villain

50 Ways To Say Villain

by Mark Nichol from Daily Writing Tips

1. Baddie: a bad person, especially a villain or a villain’s underling in a novel, a film, or a television program (usually lighthearted)

2. Beast: a reprehensible person, especially one with coarse, violent habits

3. Black sheep: an amoral, dishonourable person

3. Blackguard: a reprehensible person

4. Brute: a violent person

5. Bully: a violent person, especially one who intimidates or hurts weaker people

6. Cad: a thoughtless, uncaring man

7. Caitiff: a coward or a reprehensible person

8. Cutthroat: a vicious person

9. Dastard: a coward, or a deceitful or treacherous person

10. Desperado: a criminal, especially in the Old West

11. Devil: an evil person

12. Evildoer: a person who commits evil acts

13. Fiend: a malicious or wicked person; alternatively, an addict, a fanatic, or a person extraordinary talented at something

14. Fink: a reprehensible person (lighthearted)

15. Goon: a man who intimidates, injures, or kills in the service of another

16. Heavy: see baddie (more serious in connotation than its close synonym)

17. Heel: a reprehensible person

18. Henchman: a subordinate to a villain; alternatively, a right-hand man

19. Hoodlum: see bully

20. Hooligan: see bully

21. Hound: a reprehensible person; alternatively, an avid collector or searcher

22. Knave: a deceitful person

23. Malefactor: one who treats another person poorly or commits a crime

24. Meanie: an unkind person (lighthearted)

25. Miscreant: a criminal or a violent person; alternatively, a heretic

26. Monster: an extremely wicked person; alternatively, a cruel or deformed person

27. Ne’er-do-well: a worthless person

28. Outlaw: a fugitive from justice

29. Rapscallion: a dishonest or mean-spirited person; also, a mischievous person (often lighthearted, as are most of its close synonyms)

30. Rascal: see rapscallion

31. Reprobate: a depraved person

32. Rogue: a dishonest or reprehensible person; also, a mischievous person, or a vagrant

33. Rough: a violent person

34. Rowdy: see rough

35. Ruffian: see bully

36. Savage: see brute

37. Scalawag: see rapscallion

38. Scamp: see rapscallion

39. Scapegrace: see rapscallion

40. Scofflaw: a person who flouts laws

41. Scoundrel: see rapscallion

42. Serpent: a treacherous person

43. Shark: a devious person

44. Snake: see serpent

45. Thug: a violent person, often in the employ of another

46. Tough: see rough

47. Varlet: see knave

48. Villainness: a female villain

49. Viper: see serpent

50. Wretch: a reprehensible person; alternatively, a miserable person

If you’re looking for more crime writing resources, read these:

1. A Quick Start Guide To Writing Crime Fiction
2. How Many Suspects Do You Need In A Crime Novel?
3. 10 Deadly Poisons – A Crime Writer’s Resource
4. 20 Things A Crime And A Novel Have In Common
5. 32 Ways To Write About Fear
6. 37 Ways To Write About Anger
7. 6 Things Alfred Hitchcock Can Teach You About Writing
8. 7 Invaluable Lessons For Writers From James Patterson
9. Crime Writer’s Resource – The Human Body After Death
10. Dashiel Hammett’s 24 Rules For Detective Writers
11. Professions With The Most Psychopaths
12. Famous Fictional Detectives
13. The Man With The Golden Pen — 5 Writing Secrets From Ian Fleming
14. 10 Elementary Tips For Writers From Sherlock Holmes

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