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
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Recent Examples of malign
Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 16 Jan. 2025
The work ahead will be to encourage Trump’s better instincts, counter his more malign ones, and channel both into something resembling a coherent and constructive grand strategy.
—Charles A. Kupchan, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 June 2025
Your foreign minister did also say that the IAEA and Grossi himself are malign in intent.
—CBS News, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for malign
Adjective
The movie, which will have its European premiere at the fest, revolves around a young father whose hold on reality crumbles as a seemingly malign presence begins to stalk him following the death of his wife.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 16 Jan. 2025
The work ahead will be to encourage Trump’s better instincts, counter his more malign ones, and channel both into something resembling a coherent and constructive grand strategy.
—Charles A. Kupchan, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
Move over, infamously maligned ending of 2018’s The Predator — there’s a new cliffhanger in town.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 June 2025
Your foreign minister did also say that the IAEA and Grossi himself are malign in intent.
—CBS News, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for malign
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malign
Adjective
-
Attacks are now surging across the U.S., targeting citizens with malicious texts, emails and popups.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
-
Because the malicious screen is transparent, there are no visual cues to suggest anything suspicious is happening.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
21 July 2025
Verb
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In 2022, Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff, who presided over both trials, decided The Times was not liable for defamation while jurors were deliberating, that the error amounted to unfortunate editorializing but not libel.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
22 Apr. 2025
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As a new, inexpensive Chevrolet appeared in 1927 and The Dearborn Independent was sued for libeling a number of Jewish businessmen, Ford threw in the towel and apologized.—
George Pendle,
airmail.news,
15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
A little more than a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a decision from the Ninth Circuit that determined a ban on people sleeping in public was constitutionally cruel and unusual.—
Natalie Eilbert,
jsonline.com,
29 July 2025
-
In an inordinately cowardly and cruel act, Rubio stayed away from the department that day, ignoring the men and women whose careers and life plans were decimated by his flippant decision-making.—
Lynn Northcutt Vega,
Sun Sentinel,
29 July 2025
Verb
-
The response of the Zelensky Administration to smear anti-corruption probes as Russian propaganda is misguided and self-defeating, as many within Ukraine point out.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
24 July 2025
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My hands smeared in gore, eyes alight with frenzied ecstasy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 July 2025
Adjective
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Over time, this can create a vicious cycle where poor sleep and chronic anxiety feed into each other, creating a loop that damages your well-being.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
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There was a scary moment later in the third quarter when Charlotte’s James Banks III hit Sacramento’s Dylan Cardwell with a vicious elbow to the face.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
21 July 2025
Verb
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The top 1%, vilified by the columnist, pay 40% of all income taxes.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 July 2025
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Opponents vilify him for gutting government agencies and enacting executive orders.—
Patricia Gallagher Newberry,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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His otherwise incomparable legacy will forever be stained by his hateful remarks about Black people.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
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Late in the episode, Cartman calls off his suicide attempt after Butters helps convince him that there’s always hope for a return to the world where Cartman’s hateful trollery will again be a minority voice pushing back against the mainstream.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
24 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malign.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malign. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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