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
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Recent Examples of malicious
Some permissions will also be blocked during phone calls, so scammers can no longer walk people through the process to sideload a malicious app.
—
Simon Hill, Wired News, 10 June 2025
Unlike traditional cybersecurity that identifies markers of compromise, Abnormal Security uses artificial intelligence to create baselines for users’ normal behavior, then uses the baseline to filter out malicious activity.
—Elizabeth MacBride, CNBC, 10 June 2025
Araiza, who is now with the Kansas City Chiefs, later reached an undisclosed settlement with the woman’s attorney, whom Araiza accused of malicious prosecution.
Co-defendants Zavier Leonard and Jaiden Brown were dismissed from the case in December 2024.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 June 2025
The peonies were cut on May 31 in what was described as a malicious destruction of property at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security said.
—Elissa Robinson, USA Today, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Simon Hill, Wired News, 10 June 2025
Unlike traditional cybersecurity that identifies markers of compromise, Abnormal Security uses artificial intelligence to create baselines for users’ normal behavior, then uses the baseline to filter out malicious activity.
—Elizabeth MacBride, CNBC, 10 June 2025
Araiza, who is now with the Kansas City Chiefs, later reached an undisclosed settlement with the woman’s attorney, whom Araiza accused of malicious prosecution.
Co-defendants Zavier Leonard and Jaiden Brown were dismissed from the case in December 2024.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 June 2025
The peonies were cut on May 31 in what was described as a malicious destruction of property at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security said.
—Elissa Robinson, USA Today, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious
Adjective
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The Republican tax bill could push food assistance in Colorado into a vicious cycle of funding cuts, increasing mistakes in determining eligibility and further funding cuts to punish those mistakes, Gov. Jared Polis warned in a letter to congressional leaders Friday.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
16 June 2025
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Plaschke delivers a vicious uppercut to his opponent.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2025
Adjective
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What is a totalitarian leader other than an individualist taking that creed to its cruel conclusions, erasing the uniqueness of every other person into mere characters in a drama?—
Ed Simon
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
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That first leg ended 1-0 — a slim aggregate lead — and in the second leg back on Kiwi soil, the Australians won 2-0 with one of their goals a cruel deflection.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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This hateful message emboldened the audience to boo when graduates in Jewish Studies and Hebrew were called to the stage.—
Isabella Brannon,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2025
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Wilcox’s attorney, Bryant Scriven, told the Orlando Sentinel his client was a disabled military veteran who is neither a violent nor a hateful person.—
Silas Morgan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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This time, Boyle and Garland have a sharper, nastier provocation in mind.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
25 June 2025
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Again there are two levels here, and each radically altered the color profile of the onscreen visuals – with the high setting giving everything a nasty green hue.—
Paul Ridden
June 25,
New Atlas,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
The actor doesn’t appear on camera but voices a character who seems innocent but turns out to have malevolent intentions.—
Abigail Lee,
Variety,
14 June 2025
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That lesson is relevant far beyond Ukraine, wherever ordinary people face the threat of becoming cogs in the machinery of malevolent administrations.—
Uilleam Blacker,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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In the book, Benedict falls for Sophie Beckett, the daughter of an earl who’s been hidden away from the Ton and forced to work as a housemaid by her spiteful stepmother.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
14 Feb. 2025
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But what does our contemporary obsession — both spiteful and fawning — with Brutalism say about our wants and needs as a society at this moment?—
Anna Kodé,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In healthcare, for example, AI is being used in skin cancer detection, yet studies show that dermatologists are less likely to recommend biopsies for malignant skin cancers on patients with darker skin.—
Pauleanna Reid,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
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One study found that overall incidence of malignant appendix tumors in the United States more than doubled from 2000 to 2016 — and the diagnosis increases were highest among younger age groups.—
Tom Gavin,
EverydayHealth.com,
10 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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