supervillain

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noun

A fantasy-fiction criminal or evildoer, often with supernatural powers or equipment, in popular children's and fantasy literature who can present a credible challenge for a superhero.

Opposite
superhero
OriginEnglish villain ← Latin super- ← Proto-Italic *super →
UncommonScrabble 17
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Meanings

nounsupervillain (plural supervillains)

plural supervillains · alternative super-villain

  1. A fantasy-fiction criminal or evildoer, often with supernatural powers or equipment, in popular children's and fantasy literature who can present a credible challenge for a superhero.

    The US spy tech company Palantir published a manifesto extolling the benefits of American power and implying some cultures are inferior to others – in what MPs have called “a parody of a RoboCop film” and “the ramblings of a supervillain”.

    2026 April 21, Aisha Down, Robert Booth, “Palantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
superhero

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Italic*super
  4. Latinsuper
  5. Latinsuper-
  6. Englishsuper-
  7. Englishvillain
  8. Englishsupervillain

From super- + villain.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian суперзлодей
  • суперзлодей (superzlodej)a fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Catalan supervilà
  • supervilàa fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Chinese Mandarin 超級反派 /超级反派
  • 超級反派 /超级反派 (chāojí fǎnpài)a fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Danish superskurk
  • superskurka fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Esperanto supermaliculo, superkrimulo
  • supermaliculoa fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
  • superkrimuloa fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Finnish superroisto, superrikollinen
  • superroistoa fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
  • superrikollinena fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
  • superpahisa fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
French super-vilain
  • super-vilaina fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
German Schurke, Superschurke
  • Schurkea fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
  • Superschurkea fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Greek υπερεχθρός
  • υπερεχθρός (yperechthrós)a fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Irish sárbhithiúnach
  • sárbhithiúnacha fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Italian supercattivo
  • supercattivoa fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Japanese スーパーヴィラン
  • スーパーヴィラン (sūpāviran)a fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Polish superzłoczyńca
  • superzłoczyńcaa fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Portuguese super-vilão
  • super-vilãoa fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Russian суперзлоде́й
  • суперзлоде́й (superzlodéj)a fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Spanish supervillano
  • supervillanoa fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Swedish superskurk
  • superskurka fictional criminal or evil-doer with superpowers
Cite this entry
APA

supervillain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supervillain

MLA

“supervillain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supervillain. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “supervillain,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supervillain.

Source: supervillain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.