villainous

/ˈvɪlənəs/

//ˈvɪlənəs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"villainous" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“villainous” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,577. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,577
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, relating to, or appropriate to a villain.

Corpus desk

Index EN-villainous · villainous · English

villainous · rank #35,577 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,577
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH voluminous

Nearest frequency peer: voluminous (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “villainous”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “villainous” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for villainous
PropertyValue
Headwordvillainous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈvɪlənəs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#35,577
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “villainous”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).villainouslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “voluminous” (#35,578), “veritas” (#35,575), “V4” (#35,574). Among 969 “V” headwords, “villainous” is #35,577. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around villainous (IPA /ˈvɪlənəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #35,577 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for villainous, with forms such as "ivllainous", "vilainous", and "vilalinous". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English vileinous, from Old French vileneus. By surface analysis, villain + -ous. The correct English form is villainous, spelled V-I-L-L-A-I-N-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, relating to, or appropriate to a villain.
  2. 2
    Wicked, offensive, or reprehensible in nature or behaviour; nefarious.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how villainous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Tuc[ca]. […] Can thy Author doe it impudently enough? / Hiſt[rio]. O, I warrant you, Captaine: and ſpitefully inough too; he ha's one of the moſt ouerflowing villanous wits, in Rome. He will ſlander any man that breathes; If he diſguſt him. / Tucca. I'le know the poor, egregious, nitty Raſcall; and he haue ſuch commendable Qualities, I'le cheriſh him: […]
  2. Bah! to this toilet for the villainous boredom of church.

Etymology

From Middle English vileinous, from Old French vileneus. By surface analysis, villain + -ous.

Synonyms

villainlyvillainy

This word in other languages

villano(Español)crapuleux(Français)niederträchtig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ivllainous
  • vilainous
  • vilalinous
  • villainnous
  • villainosu
  • villainouss
  • villainuos
  • villaionus
  • villanious
  • villianous
  • vlilainous
  • vvillainous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of villainous - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ivllainous2vilainous1vilalinous2villainnous1villainosu2villainouss1villainuos2villaionus2
Edit distance from "villainous"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "villainous"?
"villainous" is spelled V-I-L-L-A-I-N-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvɪlənəs/.
What does "villainous" mean?
As an adjective, "villainous" means: Of, relating to, or appropriate to a villain.
What are common misspellings of "villainous"?
Common misspellings include "ivllainous", "vilainous", "vilalinous", "villainnous", "villainosu". The correct spelling is "villainous".
How do you pronounce "villainous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "villainous" is /ˈvɪlənəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "villainous"?
From Middle English vileinous, from Old French vileneus. By surface analysis, villain + -ous. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "villainous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

voluminous#35,578transducer#35,559alternator#35,609subliminal#35,542

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Zhejiang12 variantsToowoomba12 variantsteething12 variantsshitload12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list