as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
both parties to the divorce showed a malign desire to make each other's future life utterly miserable
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to libel
to make untrue and harmful statements about
a candidate who believes that it is possible to win an election without maligning anyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of malign
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
In the process, Nicole unintentionally unleashes a terrifyingly malign spirit who lures victims to their deaths with a haunting whistle.
—
K.j. Yossman,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2026
Jocelyn Frye,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 June 2026
That may be why Intel is once again looking to bring back Raptor Lake, a performative, but maligned architectural design that sucked up a lot of power to deliver its impressive gaming and productivity performance.
—
Jon Martindale,
PC Magazine,
15 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for malign
Adjective
The attacks are among more than 150 incidents of sabotage and malign activity across Europe tracked by The Associated Press and linked to Russia by Western officials since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
—
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
In the process, Nicole unintentionally unleashes a terrifyingly malign spirit who lures victims to their deaths with a haunting whistle.
—
K.j. Yossman,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
Policymakers defend draconian cuts to Medicaid by maligning the work ethic or honesty of low-income women, despite substantial evidence to the contrary.
—
Jocelyn Frye,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 June 2026
That may be why Intel is once again looking to bring back Raptor Lake, a performative, but maligned architectural design that sucked up a lot of power to deliver its impressive gaming and productivity performance.
—
Jon Martindale,
PC Magazine,
15 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for malign
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malign
Adjective
-
According to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, 37-year-old Adam Mazur-Baker was arraigned Tuesday on one count of using a computer to commit a crime and one count of malicious use of telecommunications services.
-
This command executes malicious code inside the AppleScript directly.
Verb
-
The restaurant sources its birotes from Duran’s to make the open-face, bean and cheese-smeared breakfast sandwiches popular throughout Mexico.
-
That slows down the process of multiple shockwaves merging into larger ones and allows the atmosphere to weaken the smaller shockwaves to smear out the sharp pressure change into a more gradual increase.
Adjective
-
Swift moved on from one Brit to the next, quietly dating actor Joe Alwyn from 2017 to 2023, while the world spent back-to-back cruel summers without Taymerica.
-
This is particularly gratifying given the absurd and cruel trolling the young actress received from the toxic corners of internet fandom leading up to the film’s release.
Verb
-
Love was vilified for Cobain’s death, accused of complicity, exploitation, or worse, resulting in a real sense of danger.
-
Judge Salas told us vilifying judges is eroding trust in the courts.
Adjective
-
This vicious machine chewed him up and spit him out in predictable fashion.
-
The mood changed a bit when Tab Ramos took a vicious elbow to the side of his head and fractured his skull.
Adjective
-
Social media sites used for hateful comments Pumphrey made threatening posts on the social media platform YouTube and other social media sites, according to the guilty plea.
-
Political podcasters such as Tucker Carlson peddle conspiracies and lies, and there seems to be little consequence for hateful rhetoric.
Cite this Entry
“Malign.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malign. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
