malicious

adjective

ma·​li·​cious mə-ˈli-shəs How to pronounce malicious (audio)
: having or showing a desire to cause harm to someone : given to, marked by, or arising from malice
malicious gossip
maliciously adverb
maliciousness noun

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Malicious, Malevolent, and Malice

Malicious and malevolent are close in meaning, since both refer to ill will that desires to see someone else suffer. But while malevolent suggests deep and lasting dislike, malicious usually means petty and spiteful. Malicious gossipers are often simply envious of a neighbor's good fortune. Vandals may take malicious pleasure in destroying and defacing property but usually don't truly hate the owners. Malice is an important legal concept, which has to be proved in order to convict someone of certain crimes such as first-degree murder.

Examples of malicious in a Sentence

… she is an inspired hater, and thrills to malicious descriptions of long-forgotten, nameless individuals whose bad luck it was to live near her, or to have met her socially. Joyce Carol Oates, New York Times Book Review, 5 Nov. 2000
A cunning and malicious crook who suckered him without half trying. Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
Frank sensed her discomfort and took a certain malicious pleasure in it, enacting all the while his perfect innocence. John Updike, The Afterlife, 1994
a malicious distortion of the truth the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip
Recent Examples on the Web Adrian Fontes, the secretary of state of Arizona, says that confidential reports from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have convinced him that malicious foreign-influence operations are accelerating this year. Barton Gellman, TIME, 24 Oct. 2024 Preventing access to such pages, or to pages containing malicious code, can be the first line of defense for an antivirus tool. PCMAG, 22 Oct. 2024 The group sued New York City in 2003 for racial discrimination, emotional distress and malicious prosecution and settled the case in 2014 for $41 million. Jaden Amos, Axios, 21 Oct. 2024 The men a year later sued New York City for false arrest, malicious prosecution and racially motivated conspiracy. Dan Mangan, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for malicious 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'malicious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see malice

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of malicious was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near malicious

Cite this Entry

“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malicious. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

malicious

adjective
ma·​li·​cious mə-ˈlish-əs How to pronounce malicious (audio)
1
: doing mean things for pleasure
2
: done just to be mean
malicious gossip
maliciously adverb
maliciousness noun

Legal Definition

malicious

adjective
ma·​li·​cious mə-ˈli-shəs How to pronounce malicious (audio)
: given to, marked by, or arising from malice
malicious destruction of property
maliciously adverb
maliciousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on malicious

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