villainousness
- noun
- /ˈvɪlənəsnəs/
- Stories often exaggerate the villainousness of their antagonists to make them more memorable.
Examples
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He tried to conceal his villainousness behind a charming smile, but his true nature soon showed.
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She was known for her villainousness, plotting schemes that caused trouble in the town.
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The villainousness of the main character shocked the entire audience.
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The villainousness of the character made the story more exciting.
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His actions revealed a deep villainousness that shocked everyone.
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The author vividly depicted the villainousness of the antagonist, making it clear he had no redeeming qualities.
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His villainousness was evident in how he sabotaged the plans of others for his own gain.
Synonyms
Bad actions or a force that harms people
A state of being morally wrong or evil
A quality of being morally bad or cruel
Very bad actions that hurt other people
Great evil that shocks people
A quality of doing very bad things and wanting to harm people
Very bad and morally wrong behavior
A wish to hurt or make other people suffer
Behaviour that harms people or tricks them, sometimes as a prank
The quality of being very evil and cruel that shocks people
Bad behavior meant to annoy or hurt people
Very bad actions that break the law
Very cruel and evil actions that harm people
A very harmful and cruel way of being that hurts other people
A feeling of wanting to harm other people
A look or feeling that seems threatening
Playful or wicked behavior that shows mischief
Antonyms
How Evil
- Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
villainousness = villainous (transparent) = villain + ous + ness
The noun is a regular nominalization of the adjective 'villainous' using '-ness' to denote the state or quality.
Etymology
The word villainousness comes from villain, which long ago meant a person from a 'village' or 'farm' and later came to mean a rude or bad person. So villainousness is the quality or 'state' of being 'wicked'.