MALEVOLENT Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

malevolent

adjective

mə-ˈle-və-lənt

as in malicious

having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it the novel grossly oversimplified the conflict as a struggle between relentlessly malevolent villains on one side and faultless saints on the other

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Recent Examples of malevolent Like the song says, friends can like different things from one another, but pretty much everyone loves Sesame Street — well, everyone except David Zaslav, the malevolent, showbiz-hating chairman of Warner Bros. Discovery. —

Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2024 The most vaunted had malevolent aims: the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), a sprawling military R&D enterprise thought to employ as many as 20,000 people. —

Byrichard Stone, science.org, 23 Dec. 2024 The Dead Zone maintains key big-picture threads from the book and movie — the malevolent rising-star politician, the apocalyptic portent — while taking advantage of its format, succeeding as both a procedural and a long-term story. —

Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2024 Imagine that kind of malevolent connection operating in the Senate. —

Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for malevolent

Recent Examples of Synonyms for malevolent

Adjective

Their malicious actions are putting the health of people, especially children, at grave risk, and will surely lead to future public health and migration crises in the U.S. – let alone suffering around the globe.

— David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
National Security Meet the man leading the front-line effort in Ukraine's cyberwar with Russia Sources speculate that the messages were artfully crafted to not use specific slurs, possibly sketchy URLs or obviously malicious language that filters would catch.

— Jenna McLaughlin, NPR, 2 Feb. 2025