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 Photo: Courtesy of Kensington Palace None of the edits are particularly misleading or malicious. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2024 Experts report that 95 percent of cybersecurity breaches are the result of human error by users who unknowingly interact with nefarious websites that expose their system to malicious code. IEEE Spectrum, 19 Mar. 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 29 Mar. 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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