Malcolm Boyd
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A recipe: combine a handful of the blahs, a pinch of the blues, and maybe a soupçon of ennui, season generously with “under the weather,” and voila, you’ve got yourself the stew of sinking sensations known as malaise. Malaise, whose Old French ancestor was formed from the combination of mal (“bad”) and aise (“comfort”), has been a part of English since the mid-18th century. It originally referred to a vague feeling of weakness or discomfort accompanying the onset of an illness—a meaning still in use today when a virus or other malady starts producing symptoms—but has since broadened to cover a general, ominous sense of mental or moral ill-being.
Examples of malaise in a Sentence
Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
There is little that brings French politicians together these days, but a majority of them seem to increasingly agree that the solution to either of these problems—the far-right and the country’s democratic malaise—won’t come from the current tenant of the Elysée Palace.
—Cole Stangler, Time, 9 Sep. 2025
Herculine follows a young trans woman who decides to fight her malaise—and her demonic visions—by joining her ex’s trans girl commune in rural Indiana.
—Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
The rotten marks for the politicians fall within Colorado voters’ general malaise for politics.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malaise
Cite this Entry
“Malaise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malaise. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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