arch-villain

[amirmir]

what is arch-villain in this sentence:

In the US, Hillary Clinton, the neoliberal arch-villain, lost – and to a man who knew just enough to pretend he hated free trade.

Source:Neoliberalism: the idea that swallowed the world

 

[lingobingo]

An arch-villain can be paraphrased as "the ultimate baddie".

The prefix arch- denotes extreme/ultimate/foremost. A similar usage is in the word arch-enemy.