villainy

noun

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

"villainy" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“villainy” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,406. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,406
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Evil or wicked character or behaviour.

Corpus desk

Index EN-villainy · villainy · English

villainy · rank #47,406 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #47,406
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH vicarious

Nearest frequency peer: vicarious (-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 “villainy”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “villainy” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

villainy vs villain
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for villainy
PropertyValue
Headwordvillainy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#47,406
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “villainy”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).villainylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “vicarious” (#47,405), “virtuosity” (#47,407), “virulence” (#47,408). Among 969 “V” headwords, “villainy” is #47,406. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around villainy, anoun. Corpus frequency is #47,406 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for villainy, with forms such as "ivllainy", "vilainy", and "vilaliny". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "villain", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English vileinie, vileynye, from Anglo-Norman vilenie, from Old French vilanie. The correct English form is villainy, spelled V-I-L-L-A-I-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Evil or wicked character or behaviour.
  2. 2
    A wicked or treacherous act.
  3. 3
    Ill-treatment, indignity, degrading or shameful treatment of someone.
  4. 4
    Disgrace, ignominy.
  5. 5
    The state of being a villein or serf, and by extension servitude or low estate in life.
  6. 6
    Boorishness, rudeness, bad cultivation or manners.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Mos Eisley spaceport- you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.
  2. He drew from his pocket a pistol, which, devoid of principle or honour, with an assassin-like assault, he instantly aimed at the breast of Lord Deloraine, but which, in the struggle that ensued, as if by retributive justice, went off unexpectedly and lodged its contents in the body of Melliphant,—thus doomed to receive his punishment by his own hand, and…

Etymology

From Middle English vileinie, vileynye, from Anglo-Norman vilenie, from Old French vilanie.

Synonyms

atrociousnessawfulnessbadnesscorruptioncorruptnesscriminalitydacoitydepravityenormityevilevilnessimmoralityknaverynefariousnessrascalitysavageryscoundrelryscumminessturpitudevilenessvillainhoodvillainousnessvillainryvillainywickedness

Antonyms

dogooderygoodgoodnessheroismvirtuevirtuousness

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ivllainy
  • vilainy
  • vilaliny
  • villainny
  • villainyy
  • villaiyn
  • villaniy
  • villiany
  • vlilainy
  • vvillainy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of villainy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ivllainy2vilainy1vilaliny2villainny1villainyy1villaiyn2villaniy2villiany2
Edit distance from "villainy"

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 "villainy"?
"villainy" is spelled V-I-L-L-A-I-N-Y.
What does "villainy" mean?
As a noun, "villainy" means: Evil or wicked character or behaviour.
What words are commonly confused with "villainy"?
"villainy" is commonly confused with "villain". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "villainy"?
From Middle English vileinie, vileynye, from Anglo-Norman vilenie, from Old French vilanie. 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 "villainy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

walkable#47,415unfilled#47,394Westbury#47,418Whitcomb#47,420

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Vazquez10 variantswhimsy10 variantstaxicab10 variantssqualid10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list