as in malice
the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm
the reviewer was criticized not for his negative review of the singer's album but for the malignance with which he expressed his disapproval of her lavish lifestyle
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of malignance
This is a movement that many progressives view as promising to reinvigorate hearts and minds, but that others warn may deliver different doses of theological malignance.
—
Audrey Clare Farley,
The New Republic,
3 Jan. 2022
By definition Mishler’s content attracts people seeking refuge, but the exceptional malignance of 2020 has colored both her videos and the attitude of her fan base.
—
New York Times,
25 Nov. 2020
Consequently, the growth disruption itself has exacerbated the cultural and economic malignance that helped create the underperforming trend in the first place.
—
David L. Bahnsen,
National Review,
13 Feb. 2018
Audrey Clare Farley,
The New Republic,
3 Jan. 2022
By definition Mishler’s content attracts people seeking refuge, but the exceptional malignance of 2020 has colored both her videos and the attitude of her fan base.
—
New York Times,
25 Nov. 2020
Consequently, the growth disruption itself has exacerbated the cultural and economic malignance that helped create the underperforming trend in the first place.
—
David L. Bahnsen,
National Review,
13 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malignance
Noun
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But on Wednesday, the jury in the latest trial found that MGA had not acted with malice, meaning no punitive damages would be awarded.
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The company’s own investigation points less to malice than to a process that never engaged.
Noun
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Public Luxury is less a dissertation on those tenets than an emotional response to the struggle to achieve it—mouths dripping with venom, eyes swollen with tears, hearts heavy with love.
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One common misconception is that lionfish are inedible because of their venom.
Noun
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According to the Sheriff’s Office, a judge released Cruz on his own recognizance June 4 following his arraignment on felony animal cruelty charges in Sacramento Superior Court.
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At one point, the narrator, embarrassed by his own act of cruelty, gives a sobbing woman all his money and then leaves her alone in a hotel room.
Noun
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Disciples of this extremist hatred are running for office and winning in select primaries.
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But to the man himself, comedy is—like life—first and foremost about hatred of death.
Noun
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And a rigorous screening protocol for LFS patients developed by David Malkin, a protege of Fraumeni and Li, helps detect early-stage malignancies, improving the odds of treating them and prolonging lives.
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But the tests didn’t reveal any malignancies.
Cite this Entry
“Malignance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malignance. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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