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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 malicious
The Browser Guard security plug-in enhances protection by blocking phishing attempts and malicious URLs.
—
PC Magazine, 9 July 2025
The problem is systemic rather than deliberately malicious.
—Zain Verjee, semafor.com, 7 July 2025
There's nothing around [the recasting] that, to me, felt malicious.
—Michileen Martin, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
PC Magazine, 9 July 2025
The problem is systemic rather than deliberately malicious.
—Zain Verjee, semafor.com, 7 July 2025
There's nothing around [the recasting] that, to me, felt malicious.
—Michileen Martin, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious
Adjective
-
The author presents a vicious takedown of George Washington.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
-
Stanton, demonstrating that there’s still plenty of power in his vicious swing, sent the pitch 401 feet the other way at 106.1 mph.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
Politics remains a cruel business and the governor has been on the frontline of it for nearly 20 years, winning and losing.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
-
They were joined by actors playing the contestants, who lurched along wearing expressions of exaggerated horror, as though the cruel stakes of the game had just been revealed to them.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
Adjective
-
Our national broadcaster should not be transmitting hateful material designed to incite violence and conflict.—
Fatima Al-Kassab,
NPR,
30 June 2025
-
Instead, the program selectively promoted one viewpoint while silencing others, effectively teaching children that religious beliefs about sexuality and gender are outdated or even hateful.—
Jeffrey S. Trimbath,
Baltimore Sun,
29 June 2025
Adjective
-
Her somewhat implausible problem is that her bad feelings—her irritation, her boredom—never register as such because of her beauty, her wealth, and her pedigree; so great is her beauty that even her nastiest moods feel like a sunny glow to others.—
Claire Jarvis,
New Yorker,
8 July 2025
-
But use kind humor, not nasty or deprecating humor.—
Davia Temin,
Forbes.com,
6 July 2025
Adjective
-
For Max in particular, his parent’s lifelong humorless severity looks more and more like malevolent delusion under a cloak of puritanical righteousness.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
11 July 2025
-
Liam sounds ferociously on-form, his nasal snarl infused with a malevolent purr.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
5 July 2025
Adjective
-
But to unsuspecting humans, killer bees seem aggressive, spiteful and, of course, terrifying.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
24 June 2025
-
But there’s a qualitative difference with a spiteful, foul-mouthed, score-settling president leading by acrid example.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Shortly after his birth, doctors discovered fluid building up inside the baby boy's head in addition to a malignant tumor that required brain surgery.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
23 June 2025
-
Nevertheless, case reports have described malignant tumors developing within tattoos, including melanomas.—
Jesse Pines,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share