as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the novel grossly oversimplified the conflict as a struggle between relentlessly malevolent villains on one side and faultless saints on the other
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Recent Examples of malevolent
So the humans or whatever living beings are on the planet are insignificant to him, but eating a planet is not a malevolent act.
—
Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 July 2025
As previously reported, TRON: Legacy ended with Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) from the original film, preventing the digital world from bleeding into the real world, as planned by the Grid's malevolent ruling program, Clu.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2025
Richard Nixon — the most malevolent president in recent American history before Trump — drew to the White House a collection of bottom-feeding crooks: H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Attorney General John Mitchell, Chuck Colson, Egil Krogh, G. Gordon Liddy, and E. Howard Hunt.
—Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 15 July 2025
When they are both haunted by a malevolent spirit of bones and rot, the siblings are forced to reunite and venture deep into the forest to confront their trauma together.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for malevolent
Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 July 2025
As previously reported, TRON: Legacy ended with Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) from the original film, preventing the digital world from bleeding into the real world, as planned by the Grid's malevolent ruling program, Clu.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2025
Richard Nixon — the most malevolent president in recent American history before Trump — drew to the White House a collection of bottom-feeding crooks: H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Attorney General John Mitchell, Chuck Colson, Egil Krogh, G. Gordon Liddy, and E. Howard Hunt.
—Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 15 July 2025
When they are both haunted by a malevolent spirit of bones and rot, the siblings are forced to reunite and venture deep into the forest to confront their trauma together.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for malevolent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malevolent
Adjective
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Accessing the code prompts recipients to provide personal and financial information, or can lead to downloading malicious software.—
Laura Daniella Sepulveda,
AZCentral.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Feeling profoundly betrayed and abandoned by David, Rebecca’s loyalty lies with the vicious and conniving Juno, the only family she’s known for the last decade.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
13 Aug. 2025
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Nothing could possibly go wrong with all the vicious alien specimens on board, right?—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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That is a particularly egregious example of how the Trump Administration has been gratuitously cruel to the Sudanese.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
5 Aug. 2025
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Stacy, Tim’s wife, also died of pancreatic cancer five months later in February of 2024, a cruel hand for a family that for years had gone above and beyond in their efforts to raise money and awareness for cancer research.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The nonprofit’s promotional ads were on social media including Facebook, where it was met with some explicitly hateful comments aimed at the LGBTQ community, Carolina Theatre spokesman Jared Misner said.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Aug. 2025
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Klum and Kaulitz, who tied the knot in 2019, have been on the receiving end of hateful remarks due to their 17-year age gap.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malevolent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malevolent. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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