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(sometimes initial capital letters) the devil.
the bogeyman.
contemporary examples

murdoch fits clarendon’s description of cromwell, updated by david chandler to describe napoleon, as “a great, bad man.”
the rupert i know conrad black december 16, 2008

“you are a prophet and you are the bad man,” he says of his skin color.
‘argo’ in the congo: the ghosts of the stanleyville hostage crisis nina strochlic november 22, 2014

adrian, as we all might have guessed, turns out to be a bad, bad man.
the first great internet novel lauren elkin july 12, 2013

it’s about the emotional reality of a good man becoming a bad man, and the reality of how his descent affects everyone around him.
‘breaking bad’s’ latest episode, “confessions,” epitomizes the show’s highs and lows andrew romano august 25, 2013

it was sad to see a good woman who loved a bad man, and is so much the worse for it.
marianne gingrich interview casts doubts on newt’s new image margaret carlson january 19, 2012

historical examples

but the power of that bad man was strong upon her, and directly the humane thrill left her bosom.
norston’s rest ann s. stephens

it’s all the drink, and things preying on his mind; he ‘s not a bad man really.
the silver box (first series plays) john galsworthy

if hereafter you learn to know that doctor grim was a bad man, forgive him, and be a better one yourself.
doctor grimshawe’s secret nathaniel hawthorne

therefore the bad man or coward is as good as the brave or may be even better.
gorgias plato

with a bad man in his place as chief factor, the old missionaries would have found life in oregon well-nigh unbearable.
how marcus whitman saved oregon oliver w. nixon

noun phrase

a villain; a desperado: supposed to pick up a vehicle containing a suitcase full of cash this morning from a ”bad guy” (mid-1800s+ western)