as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
challenged the dastardly varlet to a duel
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for varlet
Noun
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Sorkin finds no heroes but also no villains.—
The Know, Denver Post, 11 Jan. 2026
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But what Ole Miss has had to deal with is beyond the norm, with Kiffin in the villain’s role.—
Noun
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For much of his career, Skarsgård has gravitated toward characters who weaponize physical presence — Vikings, tech titans and mythic brutes whose power is immediately legible.—
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As usual, Lang plays the brute’s Heart of Darkness–esque descent into madness with gleeful relish.—
Noun
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In it, Oldham costumes up as a shaggy woodland monster, which—after a more nimble inhabitant seemingly swaps into the outfit—proceeds to engage a human in an elaborate dance routine.—
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That mentality has fueled a monster debut season for Porter County Conference leader Kouts (12-3, 4-1).—
Noun
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Boardman imposed a sentence of 97 months, citing Roske’s mental health and concerns about incarceration conditions and his status as a first-time criminal offender.—
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Since 2013, the law has allowed juvenile offenders serving life without parole to petition to have their sentence recalled and to be resentenced.—
Noun
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Only Martin — cast as a Dickensian wretch by Bonitzer’s legion of myopic elites, but always quietly acting against type — reserves the right to determine his own worth.—
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This mid-movie handoff dilutes the shock of how articulate the wretch proves in del Toro’s telling (the creature could barely speak in James Whale’s original Universal monster movie).—
Noun
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Brutal, savage, and gory, this movie follows a home invasion on Christmas Eve where a mysterious woman (Béatrice Dalle) tries to steal an unborn baby right out of another woman's (Alysson Paradis) pregnant belly.—
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Eleonora wearing a snake, Nicole’s Reputation hair from earlier in the season, the use of the word savage constantly and from out of nowhere.—
Noun
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How does history distinguish knaves from legendary figures?—
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Human beings are motivated by virtue (knights) or rigid self-interest (knaves), or are passive victims of their circumstances (pawns).—
Noun
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Nobody wants to deal with our old devil, even if the new one comes with an encroaching open threat actively bubbling in the Caribbean and Latin America at large.—
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But Bourdain, with his devil-be-damned demeanor, somehow makes the dish feel approachable — even though the two chefs’ recipes are pretty similar.—
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Cite this Entry
“Varlet.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/varlet. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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