Meaning & use
villainized
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“villainized” is a form of “villainize”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbtransitive
Treated or described as evil or to blame, often unfairly, so that others see you as the enemy.
Grammar: Takes an object, and is often passive: the coach was villainized by fans.
Patterns
- villainize someone
- be villainized by someone
- villainize someone for something
The press villainized the mayor after the budget crisis.
Immigrants have often been villainized during periods of economic worry.
She felt villainized for asking a simple question.
Word forms
| base form | villainize |
|---|---|
| third person singular | villainizes |
| -ing form | villainizing |
Common combinations
- unfairly villainized
- The referee felt unfairly villainized after the match.
- villainized by the media
- The company was villainized by the media for months.
- villainize a group
- Politicians should not villainize an entire group of people.
- be villainized for
- He was villainized for speaking out.
- constantly villainized
- Teenagers are constantly villainized in the news.
Synonyms and how they differ
- demonized
- Demonized is slightly stronger, suggesting that someone is portrayed as almost inhumanly evil.
- vilified
- Vilified focuses on abusive, insulting criticism, while villainized focuses on casting the person as the bad character in a story.
- scapegoated
- Scapegoated means blamed for faults that belong to others, which is narrower than being made to look wicked.
- stigmatized
- Stigmatized refers to being marked with shame by society, often over a long time, rather than being blamed in a specific story.
Opposites
Word family
- villain noun
- a wicked person, especially in a story
- villainous adjective
- wicked or evil
- villainy noun
- evil or criminal behavior
- villainization noun
- the act of portraying someone as a villain
Commonly confused: villainized or vilified?
villainized vs vilified
Vilified means spoken about in a nasty, abusive way, while villainized means cast as the wicked one; the two often overlap but are not identical.
Practice
The local newspaper has ___ the new teacher, blaming her for every problem at the school.
Choose one answer.
Villainized fits because the paper is casting her as the person to blame. Flattered and rewarded mean the opposite, and overlooked means ignored.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “villainized”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.