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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Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?—
Ingrid Vasquez,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
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As Robert Kalmey observes, this moment encapsulates what Roman historians thought of as the worst of all of Octavius’s crimes against the state before becoming emperor.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Before 1999, violations could lead to a $10,000 fine, two years in prison and losing a liquor license.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
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The committee has made several allegations against Blain related to public records violations, bullying and harassment.—
Susan Gill Vardon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Taken together, these triumphal and tragic elements constitute the ingredients for an epic historical narrative that defies all moralistic categories, a story rooted in the coexistence of grandeur and failure, brilliance and blindness, grace and sin.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
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In an era of 51st-state tensions, there’s something psychically fitting about Canada, America’s top hat, being used to reenact so many of America’s sins.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malefaction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malefaction. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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