as in crime
a breaking of a moral or legal code
the town treasurer has been linked to the kickback scheme and other financial malefactions
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Recent Examples of malefaction
And the principle remains that representing a malefactor isn’t, ipso facto, an act of malefaction.
—
Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2022
A pitch-framing specialist with rare agility behind the plate, Wolters must coax pitchers through Coors Field and its occasional malefactions.
—Orange County Register, 1 Apr. 2017
Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2022
A pitch-framing specialist with rare agility behind the plate, Wolters must coax pitchers through Coors Field and its occasional malefactions.
—Orange County Register, 1 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malefaction
Noun
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Last month, her government unveiled a legal reform allowing the deportation of foreigners who have been sentenced to at least one year of unconditional imprisonment for serious crimes.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Feb. 2026
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Sometimes a provider’s NPI is used without their knowledge or consent, a crime known as NPI theft that is commonly committed to facilitate Medicaid fraud.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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State media quoted Kim saying that any violation of the country’s sovereignty would trigger immediate retaliatory strikes.—
Will Ripley,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
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ByteDance has faced backlash from major Hollywood studios, including Disney and Paramount, for intellectual property violations surrounding its AI video-making tool Seedance.—
Lola Murti,
CNBC,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Once chewed up by the machine of expectation and found guilty of the eternal athletic sin of having too much talent too soon, Liu has since learned how to spit back rather than be spit out.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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According to Time and Date, palm leaves symbolize victory and joy among many Christians in the United States, as Jesus died on the cross for the sins of others.—
Marina Johnson,
IndyStar,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Malefaction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malefaction. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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