ruffian vs villain

ruffian

noun
  • A scoundrel, rascal, or unprincipled, deceitful, brutal and unreliable person. 

adj
  • Brutal; cruel; savagely boisterous; murderous. 

verb
  • To play the ruffian; to rage; to raise tumult. 

villain

noun
  • An extremely depraved person, or one capable or guilty of great crimes. 

  • A vile, wicked person. 

  • Any opponent player, especially a hypothetical player for example and didactic purposes. Compare: hero (“the current player”). 

  • In fiction, a character who has the role of being bad, especially antagonizing the hero. 

  • A deliberate scoundrel. 

How often have the words ruffian and villain occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )