malicious

adjective

ma·​li·​cious mə-ˈli-shəs 

: 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.

Synonyms of malicious

• vicious
• cruel
• hateful
• nasty
• malevolent
• spiteful
• malignant

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

Use strong security software Good security software can help protect you from malicious links, phishing attempts and other online threats that may try to steal your information. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Many phones silently join familiar-looking networks without user confirmation, a behavior that attackers exploit through malicious wireless access points that mimic trusted hotspots. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026

He was taken into custody and transported to Chesterfield County Jail, where police obtained eight warrants for malicious wounding and four warrants for use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. — Michelle Richardson, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026

For example, malicious cyber-hackers seeking to wreak havoc could use AI to corrupt the pharmaceutical manufacturing process, creating dangerous, tainted drug products. — Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see malice

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing malicious

• malicious mischief

Rhymes for malicious

• adventitious
• cementitious
• expeditious
• inauspicious
• injudicious
• meretricious
• repetitious
• superstitious
• surreptitious
• unambitious
• unpropitious
• unsuspicious

Kids Definition

malicious

adjective

ma·​li·​cious mə-ˈlish-əs 

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 

: given to, marked by, or arising from malice

malicious destruction of property

maliciously adverb

maliciousness noun