as in villainously
in a mean or spiteful manner
maliciously tried to ruin her reputation
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Recent Examples of maliciously
Joshua Booth, 51, was charged with one count of willfully or maliciously torture, maim or mutilate an animal kept for companionship or pleasure causing death, a category B felony under Nevada law, according to the Clark County District Attorney's Office.
—
James Powel, USA Today, 15 May 2026
Are there reliable technical solutions that could keep AI from being used maliciously?
—Ahmed Hamza, The Conversation, 5 May 2026
Meanwhile, the average time between an attacker first gaining access to a system and acting maliciously fell to 29 minutes last year, a 65 percent acceleration from 2024.
—ArsTechnica, 20 Apr. 2026
Our policy is—and has long been—that team members are only responsible for paying for personal protective equipment if the equipment is lost or maliciously damaged.
—Dillon Thomas, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
Ultimately, the risk is not that AI agents will behave maliciously.
—Dan Mountstephen, Fortune, 13 Apr. 2026
The league maliciously refuses to act like a nice, friendly bank and give us overdraft privileges.
—Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2026
Those labs have put guardrails in place to prevent their models from creating software that can be used maliciously.
—Huo Jingnan, NPR, 11 Apr. 2026
This may have been maliciously organized by the Department of Homeland Security to drive home a point.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2026
James Powel, USA Today, 15 May 2026
Are there reliable technical solutions that could keep AI from being used maliciously?
—Ahmed Hamza, The Conversation, 5 May 2026
Meanwhile, the average time between an attacker first gaining access to a system and acting maliciously fell to 29 minutes last year, a 65 percent acceleration from 2024.
—ArsTechnica, 20 Apr. 2026
Our policy is—and has long been—that team members are only responsible for paying for personal protective equipment if the equipment is lost or maliciously damaged.
—Dillon Thomas, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
Ultimately, the risk is not that AI agents will behave maliciously.
—Dan Mountstephen, Fortune, 13 Apr. 2026
The league maliciously refuses to act like a nice, friendly bank and give us overdraft privileges.
—Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2026
Those labs have put guardrails in place to prevent their models from creating software that can be used maliciously.
—Huo Jingnan, NPR, 11 Apr. 2026
This may have been maliciously organized by the Department of Homeland Security to drive home a point.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maliciously
Adverb
-
In other words, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.—
Derek Robertson,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
Grainy video footage from those protests reveal the brutality of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, who drag students into the street, viciously beat them and then leave them wounded on the ground.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
-
Taskin then swung one viciously past Awais, a centurion in the first test, who pushed the delivery to short-leg when on 13.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 May 2026
Adverb
-
On February 20, 1933, a bitterly cold winter day, President Hoover had laid the cornerstone of the new archives.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
-
Players and owners fought bitterly about how many games should be played during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, settling on 60 games.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
Adverb
-
Images of Labubus beamed malevolently from their packaging, as if gloating in their unreachability.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
20 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
Richard is so gifted, whip smart, and wickedly funny.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The resistance to public disclosure has been wickedly unrelenting, overcome only by an act of Congress last year.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Maliciously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maliciously. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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