rat, SI. creep, SI. jerk, SI. bastard, SI. SOB, Obs. stinkard; hoodlum, hooligan, bully, ruffian, brute, abuser, roughneck, delinquent, Inf. gallows bird; good-for-nothing, ne'er-do-well, black sheep, Inf. rip, SI. bum, Chiefly Brit, wastrel, Chiefly Brit. SI. rotter, Chiefly Brit. SI. bounder, Brit. SI. blighter; rascal, scamp, scalawag, rapscallion, scapegrace, troublemaker.
2. traitor, renegade, betrayer, Judas, recreant; deceiver, dissembler, bamboozler, Inf. four-flusher; cheat, cheater, trickster, sharper, fox, sly fox, shark, Inf. shyster, SI. con man, Inf. flimflamer; crook, U. S. SI. chiseler, swindler, bilker, Inf. diddler; criminal, felon, outlaw; murderer, assassin, cutthroat. villainous, adj. 1. evil, sinful, wicked, iniquitous, Archaic, facinorous, Obs. scelerous; nefarious, flagitious, heinous, infamous, notorious, Rare, nefast; monstrous, atrocious, horrible; black-hearted, sinister, arrant, ignoble; base, vile, foul, low, mean, odious, obnoxious.
2. unscrupulous, unprincipled, crooked, dishonorable; perfidious, treacherous, traitorous, faithless; blackguardly, scoundrelly, thievish, ruffianly; knavish, rascally, roguish, scampish; criminal, reprehensible, felonious, lawless; unregenerate, unrepentant, incorrigible; degenerate, corrupt, Rare, turpid, depraved; immoral, dissolute, profligate, reprobate, dissipated; opprobrious, disgraceful, shameful,
3. abominable, damnable, execrable, accursed, cursed; revolting, repulsive, repellent, repugnant, offensive; abhorrent, loathsome, hateful, detestable, despicable; malicious, rancorous, venomous, virulent, baneful; pernicious, baleful, fell, menacing, malignant, malign; malevolent, maleficent, malefic, ill-intentioned, evil-minded; demonic, demoniac, diabolic, satanic, devilish. villainy, n. 1. knavery, roguery, rascality, miscreancy, delinquency; iniquity, sin, sinfulness, deviltry; evil, vice, crime, improbity; nefariousness, flagitiousness, heinousness, infamy; vileness, viciousness, badness, baseness, foulness, meanness; atrocity, outrage, abomination, enormity, flagrancy; perfidy, treachery, foul play, dishonesty; unregeneracy, impenitence.
2. depravity, turpitude, degradation, degeneracy, corruption, pollution, profligacy, reprobacy, reprobateness, immorality, obliquity, debauchery. vim, n. vitality, liveliness, vigor, vigorousness, energy, get up and go, Inf. pep, SI. stingo; zeal, verve, enthusiasm, eagerness, spirit, ebullience, effervescence, bubbliness, sparkle, Inf. bounce, Dial, gimp, Chiefly Scot. smeddum; trenchancy, briskness, Inf. zip, Inf. snap, SI. pizzazz; power, potency, force, kick, Inf. punch, SI. oomph, Literary, puissance. vindicate, v. 1. acquit, clear, clear [s.o.'s] name, exonerate, exculpate, prove or declare innocent, uphold innocence, pronounce not guilty; remove guilt, free from blame, absolve.
2. justify, show just cause, warrant, authorize; substantiate, prove, verify, corroborate, confirm, bear out; extenuate, palliate, explain, rationalize, tell one's story, apologize, make excuses, Inf. alibi, Inf. do a song and dance.
3. defend, champion, fight for, plead for, stick up for, stand up for; support, uphold, sustain, bolster up, back, maintain, assert; advocate, vouch, second, stand by.
4. claim, lay claim to, file a claim for, allege ownership, declare oneself entitled to, assert one's right to, Law. deraign; demand, requisition, request, ask for.
5. avenge, revenge, Archaic, venge; retaliate, requite, take vengeance for, get back at, take an eye for an eye, pay [s.o.] back, repay, give [s.o.] his due, give [s.o.] what he asks for.