Bad actor


a mean, ill-tempered, troublemaking, or evil person.
a vicious animal.
an inveterate criminal.
Contemporary Examples

“Aeromonas happens to be a bug that has a particular capacity here that makes it a bad actor,” said Schaffner.
Necrotizing Fasciitis: How ‘Flesh-Eating Bacteria’ Strike Casey Schwartz May 13, 2012

People said openly he was a bad actor and that he was finished in Hollywood.
Is Adrian Grenier a Good Enough Actor to Play a Bad One? Touré November 23, 2008

Historical Examples

But I make a bad actor, and artistic effects can go to the devil for all I care.
The Romantic Lady Michael Arlen

“I’m afraid the Chestnut’s a bad actor,” Dixon said to Allis, after the race.
Thoroughbreds W. A. Fraser

A bad actor means a man whose actions are bad or morally reprehensible.
What I Saw in America G. K. Chesterton

If I am a bad actor I take the results of it without plaint.
I, Mary MacLane Mary MacLane

But I guess he’d be what Sam calls a ‘bad actor’ in a fight.
The Major Ralph Connor

Andrew was a bad actor and she was not misled by his clumsy indifference.
Johnstone of the Border Harold Bindloss

I can give a good imitation of a bad actor but, doubtless, I should give a very bad imitation of a good one.
Merton of the Movies Harry Leon Wilson

The other reasons are that he’s suspected of being a bad actor.
The Garden of Eden Max Brand

noun phrase

A malicious or deceitful person
A habitual criminal
A vicious animal (1900+)

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