as in vicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of malicious
Job seekers shouldn’t take the interest from cybercriminals personally, as malicious actors have placed targets on the backs of hiring managers, as well.
—
Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 Nov. 2025
Ransomware infections usually come from malicious hackers.
—PC Magazine, 3 Nov. 2025
Other schemes try to entice victims to click on a link, such as for a Zoom interview, and then install malicious software.
—Shannon Pettypiece, NBC news, 20 Oct. 2025
Cantwell and Bowers appeared in Boston Municipal Court in Roxbury on Monday to answer charges of malicious destruction of property over $1,200, disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 Nov. 2025
Ransomware infections usually come from malicious hackers.
—PC Magazine, 3 Nov. 2025
Other schemes try to entice victims to click on a link, such as for a Zoom interview, and then install malicious software.
—Shannon Pettypiece, NBC news, 20 Oct. 2025
Cantwell and Bowers appeared in Boston Municipal Court in Roxbury on Monday to answer charges of malicious destruction of property over $1,200, disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious
Adjective
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But his preposterously wide net, his endless minions, and his vicious style left us no choice but to scale back on the data center theme.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
10 Nov. 2025
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Tommy's new relationship with Mireya Garcia (Carmela Zumbado) has sparked a face-off with her brother and the leader of the vicious drug gang Insane Princes, Miguel (Manuel Eduardo Ramirez).—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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That is unacceptably cruel, corrupt, and undemocratic.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Instead, she was stripped of her bronze medal after a late score inquiry—a ruling that still feels cruel for an athlete who had delivered the performance of her life.—
Essence,
Essence,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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West has previously apologized to the Jewish community, only to go on to make offensive and hateful remarks directed at them publicly.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Dearborn is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the US and has frequently faced Islamophobic and hateful remarks.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The growth of passive investing, through index funds found in the 401(k) accounts of average Americans, has propped up the stock market while also potentially setting it up for a nasty fall.—
Mark Dent,
HubSpot,
7 Nov. 2025
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Instead of this stuff that's raised overseas that's done in ways that doesn't have any checks, that it's got polluted water, it's being fed really nasty stuff, full of antibiotics, full of chemicals.—
Dan Morrison,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Ritter plays Claire, a struggling single mother battling addiction, as a malevolent creature that feeds on despair begins to terrorize her and her two sons.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
3 Nov. 2025
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King is said to have had nightmares that night — his son running through endless hallways, pursued by a malevolent presence — inspiring the plot of the famous movie.—
Noreen Kompanik,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Meester holds her cards close to her chest, leaving us to wonder whether Joanne is being spiteful and shallow (given her trajectory … probably) or whether this woman is really that unbearable.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
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Several diss tracks followed, with the musicians hurling increasingly spiteful insults at each other relating to accusations of domestic abuse, exploitation and pedophilia.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Approximately 72 percent of all brain tumors are benign and 28 percent are malignant.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
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One 2021 systematic review found that among postmenopausal women whose endometriosis did become malignant, about 75% had used estrogen-only MHT.—
Tabitha Britt,
Flow Space,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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