A person of evil character; a villain or ruffian. Somewhat literary or formal; in everyday speech, 悪人 or 悪党 are more common.
He was feared by the villagers as a villain.
Standard kanji spelling using 凶 (evil, bad).
Variant using 兇 (wicked, villainous); less common in modern usage.
Compound of 凶 (evil, bad) and 人 (person). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning of a wicked person.