villainy
villainy — noun
1. behaviour that is deeply wicked, cruel, or criminal; the quality of character th
behaviour that is deeply wicked, cruel, or criminal; the quality of character that makes someone act like a villain
Ada could not believe the villainy behind the factory's cover-up.
collocation: villainy behind [something]
The villainy of the smuggling ring shocked even seasoned detectives.
villainy as subject; villainy of [group]
Folake read about the villainy of medieval rulers who burned villages.
Vikram's novel explores ordinary people drawn slowly into acts of villainy.
The court heard evidence of villainy that stretched back twenty years.
- wickedness
broader; covers moral badness in both character and actions, more common in everyday speech
- evil
more general and powerful; used across all contexts for the darkest moral failures
- depravity
more formal; emphasises a corrupted moral state, often with a sense of disgust
- iniquity
old-fashioned and literary; typically used for systemic unfairness rather than individual acts
文法句型
villainy + of + noun phrase
用法筆記
Typically uncountable. Refers to the quality or pattern of behaviour, not a single bad act.