malice

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun malice differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of malice are grudge, ill will, malevolence, malignity, spite, and spleen. While all these words mean "the desire to see another experience pain, injury, or distress," malice implies a deep-seated often unexplainable desire to see another suffer.

felt no malice toward their former enemies

When is grudge a more appropriate choice than malice?

Although the words grudge and malice have much in common, grudge implies a harbored feeling of resentment or ill will that seeks satisfaction.

never one to harbor a grudge

When is it sensible to use ill will instead of malice?

In some situations, the words ill will and malice are roughly equivalent. However, ill will implies a feeling of antipathy of limited duration.

ill will provoked by a careless remark

Where would malevolence be a reasonable alternative to malice?

The words malevolence and malice are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, malevolence suggests a bitter persistent hatred that is likely to be expressed in malicious conduct.

a look of dark malevolence

In what contexts can malignity take the place of malice?

The words malignity and malice can be used in similar contexts, but malignity implies deep passion and relentlessness.

a life consumed by motiveless malignity

When would spite be a good substitute for malice?

The synonyms spite and malice are sometimes interchangeable, but spite implies petty feelings of envy and resentment that are often expressed in small harassments.

petty insults inspired by spite

When might spleen be a better fit than malice?

While the synonyms spleen and malice are close in meaning, spleen suggests the wrathful release of latent spite or persistent malice.

venting his spleen against politicians

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of malice Smith said Hawthorne committed murder because his actions showed malice. Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2025 Jake Haro, 32, and his wife, Rebecca Haro, 41, were each charged with felony murder with malice on Tuesday in the death of their son Emmanuel, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office. Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 27 Aug. 2025 The two have been charged with felony murder with malice. Megan Forrester, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2025 There was no malice or sarcasm in his voice — just sincerity. Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for malice
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malice
Noun
  • Spiders have venom to subdue prey, but the majority have fangs that are too tiny to puncture human skin.
    Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 11 Oct. 2025
  • Luckily the snake did not inject any venom.
    Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Historically, political movements die when they become subsumed by paranoid Jew-hatred.
    Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
  • This isn’t quite like other rivalries, such as the Iron Bowl or Georgia-Georgia Tech, where coaches motivate their players by talking up their hatred of the other team.
    Seth Emerson, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Cobb was arrested and charged with murder in the second degree and cruelty to children in the second degree, both felonies, police said.
    Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Gibson was charged with cruelty to animals, taken into custody, and later released on a $20,000 bond.
    Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The Giants didn’t finish with an 81-81 record because of Melvin or in spite of him.
    Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • The housing authority's board later renominated Lowe in spite of the earlier denial, a move that put the decision on a successor in the hands of the Board of Directors.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Comment sections have always attracted hatefulness and resentment; these ones just happen to encourage it more explicitly.
    Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • To watch Lipe-Smith’s Caroline cuddle in bed watching TV on her iPad, or bopping around to JoJo Siwa, or pensively finishing a Popsicle while sitting beside her grandmother at a museum, is to have the sheer malevolence of our current administration and its adherents thrown into sharp relief.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Fonda arrived in Rome with his blue eyes darkened by contact lenses, the better to convey malevolence.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • That would basically say that he wouldn't have been prosecuted if not for the president's hostility toward him.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Two-thirds of Israelis want an end to the war in Gaza—an increase of 13 percentage points from a year ago—according to a poll that found the fate of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, the main reason for a desire for hostilities to end.
    Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • His Cyrano is the play’s hero, even if the character’s psychological limitations are as much a factor in the story as the machinations of De Guiche, whose malignity is sent up in Nathanson’s flamboyantly comic turn.
    Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
  • For a decade, the central drama of Trumpism has concerned the Republican élites who continued to support him—the story has been about their malignity, or opportunism, or willful moral blindness.
    Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Malice.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malice. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.

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