as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
challenged the dastardly varlet to a duel
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for varlet
Noun
-
Temuera Morrison plays a terrific villain as the murderous King Kahekili.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025 -
Living with the aftermath Smollett in Episode 9 Courtesy of Apple TV+ Lehane never set out to create a simple morality tale with clear heroes and villains.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
But Madsen was born to be the Lee Marvin of the 1990s — the kind of laconic brute who spoke softly and carried a sharp straight-razor.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
3 July 2025
-
The novel is often rhapsodic about its alpha brutes, but, toward the end, Frey turns the tables.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
17 June 2025
Noun
-
Second-year defensive tackle Isaiah Iton enjoyed an up-and-down day, jumping offsides during individual and team drills, notching a run stuff and monster win in 1-on-1 pass rush.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The luxury, 387-room hotel, located in Tokyo's Roppongi Hills complex, is collaborating with the Nintendo, the parent company of Pokémon, to give its fans the ultimate respite this summer: a few nights surrounded by their favorite pocket monsters.—
Jalyn Robinson,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Often regarded by historians as a collection of savage tribes, the Scythians emerge as a pivotal force of the ancient world in this monumental history.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2023
-
Nearly 32 years ago, Rodney King’s savage beating by police in Los Angeles prompted heartfelt calls for change.—
Aaron Morrison, Claudia Lauer and Adrian Sainz,
Anchorage Daily News,
29 Jan. 2023
Noun
-
Since then, he’s been a haunted wretch of a character: stoned, sullen, stuck with recurring visions of shooting his wife and himself.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
8 Apr. 2025
-
The unfortunate wretch makes an exciting escape, killing her captor in the process.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
How does history distinguish knaves from legendary figures?—
W.E. Gutman,
Sun Sentinel,
8 July 2025
-
Implications Le Grand's work on post-World War II British social policy found that perceptions of human motivations gradually transformed, with the prevailing view of the typical British citizenry morphing from knight into knave as the costs of maintaining an expensive welfare state increased.—
Sachin H. Jain,
Forbes,
20 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
One nun's habit was adorned with giant devil's horns.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
12 Aug. 2025
-
This habit of playing devil’s advocate 24/7 isn’t always malicious—or even intentional.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The Saturday Night Live alum, 31, and Beverly Hills Cop actor, 64, star in the action-comedy The Pickup as Travis and Russell, two security guards whose vehicle is hijacked by Zoe (Keke Palmer), a criminal on a mission to avenge her dad by robbing a casino.—
Rebecca Aizin,
People.com,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Neighborhoods where residents get out and meet each other and know their law enforcement are safer and discourage criminals — that’s the thinking behind the National Night Out campaign.—
Heather McRea,
Oc Register,
7 Aug. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Varlet.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/varlet. Accessed 23 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share