Phrase guide

bad guy

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

a villain, particularly an antagonist in a story.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

any person who is not on your side

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: good guy

Broader terms: person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 壞人 /坏人 (huàirén) — a villain
  • Chinese Mandarin: 壞蛋 /坏蛋 (huàidàn) — a villain
  • Chinese Mandarin: 惡人 /恶人 (èrén) — a villain
  • Danish: skurk — a villain
  • Finnish: pahis — a villain
  • Finnish: vastustaja — a villain
  • French: méchant — a villain
  • French: mauvais — a villain
  • French: salaud — a villain
  • German: Bösewicht — a villain
  • German: Böser — a villain
  • German: Missetäter — a villain
  • German: Schurke — a villain
  • Indonesian: orang jahat — a villain
  • Italian: cattivista — a villain
  • Japanese: 悪者 (warumono) — a villain
  • Japanese: 悪人 — a villain
  • Korean: 악인 (agin) — a villain
  • Russian: плохо́й па́рень (ploxój párenʹ) — a villain
  • Russian: злоде́й (zlodéj) — a villain
  • Russian: плохо́й (ploxój) — a villain
  • Swedish: bov — a villain
  • Swedish: skurk — a villain
  • Swedish: ful typ — a villain