villainy

[ vil-uh-nee ]

noun

, plural vil·lain·ies.

1. the actions or conduct of a villain; outrageous wickedness.
2. a villainous act or deed.
3. Obsolete. villeinage.

villainy

/ ˈvɪlənɪ /

noun

1. conduct befitting a villain; vicious behaviour or action
2. an evil, abhorrent, or criminal act or deed
3. the fact or condition of being villainous
4. English history a rare word for villeinage

Word History and Origins

Origin of villainy¹

1175–1225; Middle English vile ( i ) nie, vilainie < Old French. See villain, -y ³

Example Sentences

We are deep in darkness, before a four-year storm that, according to those Trump has already appointed to his staff, will be replete with violence against immigrants, overwhelming tariffs, profuse and criminal lies, the further fracturing of our country, a desecration of the Constitution and many other forms of villainy — all of which will be conveniently blamed on Joe Biden and the Democrats in an unending stream of calumnious statements backed up by Elon Musk on his de facto state media operation.

From Salon

He has said that Fauci had masterminded “a historic coup d’état against Western democracy”—he wrote a whole book about Fauci’s supposed villainy—and said Fauci should be prosecuted for his handling of COVID.

From Slate

This is why, in addition to revisiting old stories to recontextualize the villainy of the monstrous characters, we’ve also increasingly seen new stories that show white supremacy, patriarchy, and other elements of the dominant culture as the monstrous figures they’ve really been all along.

From Slate

The Harris campaign’s foregrounding of a conservative surrogate, whose surname Democrats long have equated with villainy, may frustrate some on the left.

From Slate

Huston’s ready-made villainy won’t suffer either, although I’m pretty sure a shot of him closing his eyes — ostensibly in monstrous reverie — is really just an attempt to remember better gigs.

From Los Angeles Times