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

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 Use strong antivirus software to help detect malicious links, block dangerous websites and protect against malware designed to steal your passwords. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026 Burch on Monday sued Los Angeles resident Christine Weber and her legal team, submitting a lawsuit in Los Angeles Supreme Court for malicious prosecution, abuse of process and intentional infliction of emotional distress. — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026 There is an extremely deep irony in slandering me as a malicious actor, and confirming my thesis in the same email. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 28 Oct. 2026 Shawn Fenner was denied bond Tuesday on charges including second-degree arson, first-degree malicious burning and threat of arson in connection with the fire. — Cbs Baltimore, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for malicious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious

Adjective

The vicious cycle of the current model, of course, is that to become marketable a team needs to get and retain good players, and to do that a school has to spend money, which cycles the whole thing back to the start.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
Governments were expected to rescue struggling banks, which held large amounts of sovereign debt, creating a vicious cycle.

— Jenni Reid,Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 23 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

With American Family Field rocking, Ashby reared back and threw a nasty curve that Díaz tried to hold up on.

— Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
Of course, there has been some criticism of this plan, as France is experiencing some pretty nasty civil unrest at the moment, but the game will go ahead, with the Saints having been in the country for a few days already.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of nasty

Adjective

Mahershala Ali leads the resistance against the malevolent powers that be as a rebel bandit.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2026
The films leap from 1994 to 1978 to 1666 as high schooler Deena (Kiana Madeira) and her friends battle a malevolent witch from the town’s past to save her girlfriend, Sam (Olivia Scott Welch).

— Sara Netzley, Entertainment Weekly, 11 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

Leo’s participation is complicated by his recent lung cancer diagnosis and surgery to remove a lower lobe of his right lung, which had a malignant tumor on it.

— Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2026
These early sequences display a keen ability from Matsumura to paint a tragic picture of malignant, festering grief from a past tragedy, without the need for any overt explanation.

— James Marsh, Variety, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of malignant

Browse Nearby Words

malice

malicious

maliciously

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of malicious

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

satiate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 SCRABBLE Dictionary

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes