villainess
Wicked woman character
A villainess is a female villain—a woman who plays the antagonist role in a story, or who behaves wickedly in real life.
The term appears most often in melodrama, fairy tales, and genre fiction: The villainess plotted against the heroine.
In recent years, "villainess" has become a popular subgenre of romance and fantasy fiction featuring morally ambiguous or redeemed female antagonists.
Woman who entices
- enchantressWoman who uses sorcery
- sirenWailing alert device
- vixenFemale of Reynard's kind
- seductressWoman who entices romantically
alluring · beguiling · bewitching · enticing · captivating · irresistible · sultry · man-eater
Devising a secret plan
- manipulativeSkilled at controlling others
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
devious · mastermind · scheming · guile · subterfuge · deceitful · crafty · sly
Persistent source of ruin
- adversaryEnemy in conflict
- foeHostile opponent
- rivalOne who competes against
- enemyHostile opposing party
opponent · antiheroine · archnemesis · counterpart · challenger · contender · foil · protagonist
Harboring ill will
- wickedEvil or slang-excellent
- nefariousExtremely evil or villainous
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- cruelWillfully causing suffering
vile · corrupt · depraved · heinous · dastardly · merciless · ruthless · despicable
Having superior influence
- commandingExerting strong authority
- formidableInspiring fear or respect
- tyrannicalExercising power unjustly
- imposingImpressively grand in scale
intimidating · controlling · domineering · ruthless · iron-fisted · queenly · imperious · authoritarian
temptress
Woman who entices
- enchantressWoman who uses sorcery
- sirenWailing alert device
- vixenFemale of Reynard's kind
seductress · alluring · beguiling · bewitching · enticing · captivating · irresistible · sultry · man-eater · Delilah
plotting
Devising a secret plan
- manipulativeSkilled at controlling others
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
calculating · devious · mastermind · scheming · guile · subterfuge · deceitful · crafty · sly · underhanded
nemesis
Persistent source of ruin
enemy · opponent · antiheroine · archnemesis · counterpart · challenger · contender · foil · protagonist · heroine
malevolent
Harboring ill will
- wickedEvil or slang-excellent
- nefariousExtremely evil or villainous
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
cruel · vile · corrupt · depraved · heinous · dastardly · merciless · ruthless · despicable · monstrous
dominant
Having superior influence
- commandingExerting strong authority
- formidableInspiring fear or respect
- tyrannicalExercising power unjustly
imposing · intimidating · controlling · domineering · ruthless · iron-fisted · queenly · imperious · authoritarian · matriarch
- female archetypesfemme fatale, ingenue, diva, leading lady, girl next door
- soap operassoap opera, telenovela, melodrama, cliffhanger, amnesia
- bad girlsbaddie, mean girl, she-devil, troublemaker, rebel
- gender rolesgender roles, masculinity, femininity, gender stereotypes, traditional roles
- Webcomicswebcomic, webcomics, webtoon, xkcd, Penny Arcade
- anime genresshonen, shounen, shojo, shoujo, seinen
villainessheroine
Brave female protagonist
protagonist · hero · leading lady · rescuer · good guy