knave

noun

ˈnāv How to pronounce knave (audio)
Definition of knavenext
as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person he plays the role of the duplicitous knave who tries to foil the play's hero

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of knave Try for yourselves, ye witless knaves— Take each to bed your Sally! — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026 Many a knave is rich, sleek, and honored, while the just man is poor, hated, and in torment. — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 18 June 2026 Human beings are motivated by virtue (knights) or rigid self-interest (knaves), or are passive victims of their circumstances (pawns). — Sachin H. Jain, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knave
  1. villain
  2. brute
  3. devil
  4. monster
  5. savage
  6. scoundrel
Noun
  • Broncos coach/Falcons villain/Bountygate co-conspirator Sean Payton took a shot at the home fans during a halftime interview on Friday.
    — Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • How did directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado get Salonga to play a villain?
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • The show’s depiction of Hugh as a family man has been much more sympathetic than the book’s description of him as a power-hungry brute.
    — James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Shinnecock was still a brute of a test, but the red numbers on the white scoreboard were an unfamiliar site for this course.
    — Doug Ferguson, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
Definition of brute
Noun
  • Throughout the movie, two mentors stand over each of his shoulders like an aproned angel and devil.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026
  • There’s also a devil, all too ready to perch on his other shoulder, too.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of devil
Noun
  • According to Disney, guests will have the chance to explore the city, meet its citizens, taste unique cuisine, and step into the everyday world of monsters in a totally new way.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The wild things – fictional monsters Sendak has said were based on his own family members – roll their terrible eyes, gnash their teeth and show their terrible claws.
    — Liz Rosenberg, The Conversation, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of monster
Noun
  • Manson and his followers evaded police for months but were eventually arrested and charged in the savage slayings in December 1969.
    — Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 15 Aug. 2026
  • For all its characteristic restraint and formal diligence, Killing Spree is a book that wants to make noise, to cut through the dead air with cries of grief and rage, undoing our own savage torpor.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of savage
Noun
  • That range runs from scoundrels to astromechs, and a Jedi is on the table too.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • But Roy Cohn—an American scoundrel and the lawyer who helped send Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to the electric chair, aided Senator Joseph McCarthy in implementing the Red Scare, and showed Trump the ropes in the real-estate business—was long gone.
    — Kai Bird, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of scoundrel

Browse Nearby Words

knapsacks
knave
knaveries
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Cite this Entry

“Knave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knave. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of knave for Spanish Speakers

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