noun
villainy
VIL-uh-nee/ˈvɪləni/
Wickedness in character or conduct.
The intruder’s deliberate damage to the community garden reveals villainy.
Etymology
The underlying word for a peasant carried contempt for supposedly low social character. In this noun, that contempt takes a moral sense: disgraceful acts or outright wickedness.
In context
to cheat him again would be a very just and proper reward for his villainy
More examples
- His villainy eventually became impossible to conceal.
- The scheme revealed remarkable villainy.
- The audience enjoyed the actor’s theatrical villainy.
Forms
villainy
villain noun — a wicked person
Similar words
- wickedness
- Wickedness is the broad equivalent; villainy often evokes deliberate wrongdoing or a villain’s character.
- crime
- Crime violates law; villainy is a moral judgment and can extend beyond legal offenses.