malinger

verb

ma·​lin·​ger mə-ˈliŋ-gər 

malingered; malingering mə-ˈliŋ-g(ə-)riŋ 

intransitive verb

: to pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness (as to avoid duty or work)

His boss suspected him of malingering because of his frequent absences from work.

malingerer

mə-ˈliŋ-gər-ər 

noun

Did you know?

Do you know someone who always seems to develop an ailment when there's work to be done? Someone who merits an Academy Award for his or her superb simulation of symptoms? Then you know a malingerer. The verb malinger comes from the French word malingre, meaning "sickly," and one who malingers feigns illness. In its earliest uses in the early 19th century, malinger usually referred to a soldier or sailor pretending to be sick or insane to shirk duty. Later, psychologists began using malingering as a clinical term to describe the feigning of illness in avoidance of a duty or for personal gain. Today, malinger is used in just about any context in which someone fakes sickness or injury to get out of an undesirable task.

Examples of malinger in a Sentence

His boss suspected him of malingering because of his frequent absences from work.

Recent Examples on the Web

The entire day felt dehumanizing, as if her nearly eight years with the company, her medical problems and her physical pain had been reduced to nothing more than malingering and scattered incidents of tardiness. —Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 2023

Goldstein, who did not return a message seeking comment, practices in Chicago and has lectured on the topic of malingering, according to a resume posted online. —Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023

But when workers take advantage of the manager’s kindly nature to malinger or disrupt operations, the entire business is threatened. —Bill Conerly, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2022

The decision against Robert Krebs came after a psychologist determined Krebs didn’t have a mental illness or cognitive impairment and was instead malingering to avoid prosecution for the robbery last year in Tucson. —Jacques Billeaud, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2019

On Monday, prosecutor Stuart Silberg said Ms. Ortega could have been malingering, or faking her psychiatric state. —Corinne Ramey, WSJ, 31 July 2017

The question is obviously especially consequential when deeming a person malingering means they could be put to death. —James Hamblin, The Atlantic, 5 May 2017

Word History

Etymology

French malingre sickly

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

malinger

verb

ma·​lin·​ger mə-ˈliŋ-gər 

malingered; malingering -g(ə-)riŋ 

: to pretend to be sick or injured so as to avoid duty or work

malingerer

-gər-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

malinger

intransitive verb

ma·​lin·​ger mə-ˈliŋ-gər 

malingered; malingering -g(ə-)riŋ 

: to pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness (as to avoid duty or work)