pantomime villain
- noun
- /ˈpæntəˌmaɪm ˈvɪlən/
:
villano de pantomima
- In the play, the audience loved to boo the pantomime villain as he schemed against the hero.
Examples
-
For whatever reason, Luis Suarez is the pantomime villain of the Premier League.
Blog text (31) -
Esterhazy so perfectly fits the part of the pantomime villain that it is scarcely surprising that, for the past century, historians have unanimously and uncritically accepted the role assigned to him.
Academic text (2011) -
The director wanted to create a memorable pantomime villain who would make the audience gasp in shock.
-
Every great story includes a pantomime villain who makes the hero's journey more thrilling.
Synonyms
272
3.3
A person who does very bad things, often the main bad character in a story
8
3.8
A bad character in a story who causes trouble for the hero, often in children's stories
2
7.0
A person who is the main bad character in a story or film, often in children's stories
2
7.1
A woman who plays the bad person in a story
1
7.7
A man who does cruel or wrong things in stories
Antonyms
How Evil
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'pantomime' (a theatrical performance) with 'villain' (an evil character): it refers to the villain character in a pantomime, typically exaggerated and booed by the audience. While there is a cultural nuance (a stock, over-the-top stage antagonist), the basic sense is compositional and predictable for a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Pantomime villain comes from old British family stage shows called pantomimes, where the villain wore showy clothes, made big gestures and invited the audience to shout and boo. That's why the term now means a character who is clearly 'evil' in an over-the-top, showy way and who often gets boos.