MALICIOUS Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

malicious

adjective

mə-ˈli-shəs

Definition of malicious

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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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 Feeds identify malicious IPs, malware hashes or live campaigns, but cannot tell if these reach our systems, touch critical identities or expose business dependencies. — Jonathan Stewart, Forbes.com, 5 Nov. 2026 The imposter website delivered content from the real one that added malicious JavaScript into it. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 4 Nov. 2026 According to MotherSphere, four Javascript files for the game were modified with to contain malicious computer code. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 4 Nov. 2026 Even when people attempt to stay in the loop, AI agents execute so quickly that human workers often fail to spot problems or malicious requests. — Shahnaz Bashir, The Conversation, 4 Nov. 2026 See All Example Sentences for malicious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious

Adjective

For the moment, Trump’s vicious bigotry has alienated most independent voters and even some Republicans.

— David Yassky, New York Daily News, 2 Nov. 2026
Outside observers described his vicious consolidation of power as an attempt to compensate for his youth, his limited political experience, and his complete lack of a military background.

— Jieun Baek, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of vicious

Adjective

People talking to an AI in an abusive and cruel way are more likely to be associated with trying to get the AI model to engage in dangerous requests, like trying to get around an AI’s safety guardrails, Campbell added.

— Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026
From the very start, the students assigned as guards went on cruel power trips and repeatedly humiliated — if not psychologically tortured — the inmates, to the point that some of the prisoners suffered nervous breakdowns.

— Frank Landymore, Futurism, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of cruel

Adjective

Violent mobs carrying Palestinian flags clashed with police, looted hundreds of stores, and flooded social media with over 1,300 hateful anti-Semitic posts.

— Staff, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
The Illinois High School Association is responding as an investigation continues into hateful comments against Evanston Township High School students who were part of marching band during a football game at the new Ryan Field last week.

— Adam Harrington, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of hateful

Adjective

Surely, though, it is not lost on the audience that this play opens in the middle of a strikingly nasty political campaign to elect members of the Chicago school board, warring Democrats all.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
Someone who hung up on your problem is unlikely to listen to a nasty critique and vow to reform.

— Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of nasty

Adjective

That genre run includes one of her most recognizable roles, a maternally malevolent antagonist in David Cronenberg’s The Brood (1979).

— Kelly Martinez, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2026
Most are somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a fist, and their only real feature is a malevolent-looking mouth armed with five overlapping teeth for grinding and shearing kelp.

— Joseph Ogilvy, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of malevolent

Adjective

It would be seen as a work of merciless autofiction in the vein of Karl Ove Knausgaard, and it would be discussed, as his books are, as aggressive, antisocial, and spiteful.

— B. D. McClay, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
In 1932, Carlos (Milo Quifes) is a young man in Grenada at a time when Spain is lurching uncomfortably towards an ever-increasing spiteful intolerance of homosexuality.

— Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of spiteful

Adjective

His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor.

— Emily Feng, NPR, 6 Nov. 2026
In contrast to many high-income settings, children with malignant diseases such as leukemias and solid tumors represent a relatively small proportion – about 4% – of patients who would benefit from a palliative care approach.

— Emilee Flynn, The Conversation, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of malignant

Browse Nearby Words

malice

malicious

maliciously

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“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of malicious

adjective

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