as in malice
the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm
the maliciousness of some Internet trolls led the editor to start moderating comments on the site
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maliciousness
Noun
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Officers arrested Granger on Tuesday and charged him with rape, aggravated assault, malice murder, and two counts of felony murder.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026 -
Peterson said there was no evidence of malice by Dance and that good faith is presumed for public officers.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The very notion of national unity in a time of war seems utterly beyond this president, who follows his capricious instincts and continues, as ever, to spray venom at domestic opponents (and, for that matter, allies) when they are needed to wage and win the war.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
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Also in the rattlesnake win column, their venom has been a major source of inspiration for medical treatments, Taylor said.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Maliciousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maliciousness. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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