a scoundrel or rascal
a criminal
a character in a story or play whose evil actions affect the plot
In ‘Vanity Fair’ Becky Sharp is both heroine and villain
informal somebody or something that is the cause of or is blamed for a particular evil or difficulty
This plug must be the villain
villainous adj
villainy noun
[Middle English vilain, vilein peasant, churl, via French from medieval Latin villanus, from Latin villa country estate]