Faux Affably Evil is a term referring to villains who, at a glance, are similar to those who are the Affably Evil type, but with a lack of sincerity to their affable and sympathetic nature. Such villains are rarely, if ever wrathful or patronizing in front of the heroes, but they do not actually show genuine empathy towards others; as such, they are sounding polite but not actually so, which causes their villainy to stand out more rather than less.

In some works, Faux Affably Evil villains break the Fourth Wall and reveal their true nature to the audience, while pretending to be nice in front of the protagonists. Arrogant villains who give a sarcastic apology to their foes also fall under this category. However, the characters of the story and audience alike might not be aware of the Faux Affably Evil villain's true colors until they reveal them. They could appear very much as a friend or ally before betraying the heroes, good examples including Dawn Bellwether, Prince Hans, Malty S. Melromarc, Rex Dangervest, Ego, Commander Rourke, Sun Li, Doji, King Zenoheld, Scar, Piella Bakewell, Sir Miles Axlerod, Boingo, and Ernesto de la Cruz. These kinds of villains are commonly regarded as surprise villains who can even have the audience fooled by their "friendly" attitudes.

Despite their lack of sincerity, some of these villains can actually be remorseful due to the fact that sometimes the hero can reach them in heart (e.g. Anti-Pops and Bryce Walker). They also can be insecure, redeemable and/or honorable (e.g. Marina Arusu, Darth Vader, Lord Business, Dutch van der Linde, Tai Lung, Baal and Horobi). In fact, some Faux Affably Evil villains can even be heroic in some cases (e.g. Violet, Eric Cartman, Peter Griffin, Roger Smith, Namaari, Ericka Van Helsing, Humpty Alexander Dumpty, Captain Qwark, Mandy, Mr. Krabs, and Kokichi Oma).

Note: Just because a villain is extremely evil, doesn't mean that they automatically fall under this category if they're violent and hostile towards everyone without showing any false politeness (e.g. Dabi, Montgomery de la Cruz, William Wharton, Ercole Visconti, Craster, Shio and Asahi's Father, Karl Tanner, Thaddeus Sivana, Ronan the Accuser, Kylo Ren, Kid Buu, Shao Kahn, Hyness, Victor Krane, Kaigaku, and Stella).

• However, this rule does not apply to villains like Zhan Tiri and Edwin Epps who are hostile to almost everyone if they are superficially polite to at least one person.
• Also, if a villain is truly affable only to the people he/she cares about, but is not genuinely polite to anyone else, , (e.g. Kai Chisaki, Hiro Shishigami, Darth Vader, Mr. Krabs, Walter White, Cersei Lannister, Emperor Belos, Yuno Gasai, Bryce Walker, Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, Tomura Shigaraki, Himiko Toga, Kurumi Tokisaki, Joseph Seed, Cletus Kasady, Ultron, Robert Dixon, and Roadhog), then they still fall under this category.