Meaning & use
Villainization
Last updated
The act of portraying or treating someone as a villain or as responsible for wrongdoing, often unfairly or in the media.
See it in a sentence
Some historians argue that the villainization of the queen in popular culture ignored her genuine achievements.
The company faced villainization in the press after the leaked documents came out.
A note on using this word
"Villainization" is a modern extension of "villain," and is frequently used in discussions of media, politics, and history to describe how a person's public image is shaped negatively.
Words with a similar meaning
demonizationvilification
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
glorificationidealization
Make it your own
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