malicious

adjective

mə-ˈli-shəs How to pronounce malicious (audio)
Definition of maliciousnext
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

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 Companies should detect prompt injection, malicious or compromised tools, behavioral anomalies, data exfiltration and other threats. — Shashwat Sehgal, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026 Coding a malicious program that steals private data while dodging detection by antivirus tools is hard. — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 30 Sep. 2026 Facilitators then break into the machine and install malicious software that can be remotely activated to bypass its security systems. — Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026 Eventually, the attackers began using their command injection capability to install malicious payloads. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 30 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for malicious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious
  1. vicious
  2. cruel
  3. hateful
  4. nasty
  5. malevolent
  6. spiteful
  7. malignant
Adjective
  • The film focuses on a psychological experiment that Kaczynski was part of in college, where he was subjected to vicious personal attacks.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
  • In the clip, an 11-year-old Breakers player can be seen skating up the ice before delivering a vicious, two-handed slash to the head of a Kings player.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of vicious
Adjective
  • The policy of sending them to a third country has been condemned as harsh and cruel.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Eight men were killed via gassing until an Alabama district judge ruled the execution method unconstitutionally cruel, in June; the Supreme Court has maintained the block.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • Calling yourself compassionate doesn't excuse dangerous accusations What, exactly, is hateful about a mother or father wanting their daughter to have a female-only locker room?
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • His parents denied any wrongdoing in an interview with ABC10 News and said the family does not hold hateful beliefs.
    — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of hateful
Adjective
  • Rather, the couple’s beloved dog, Lena, was up all night with a nasty case of diarrhea.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The latest special guest stars Este Haim as the mysterious Hallow's Eve, a villainess who wants to ruin Halloween forever by playing nasty tricks on kids out looking for candy.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of nasty
Adjective
  • One is malevolent humans weaponizing AI to do terrible things.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Today the danger is swarms of malevolent AI agents, the CEOs in question run frontier labs, and legal niggling risks holding up an urgent safety conversation.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of malevolent
Adjective
  • The anger leads them to Rupert, Rebecca’s forever-spiteful ex.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Cox’s film is biased in Bill’s favor, portraying him as a lapdog whose love for this screeching, spiteful, beady-eyed woman is his great tragic flaw.
    — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of spiteful
Adjective
  • An analysis of 1,000 tissue samples representing 11 major organs in just over 400 male donors has now delivered a clear map and expression profile of missing Y chromosomes in typical, pre-cancerous, and malignant tumors.
    — Mike McRae September 20, New Atlas, 21 Sep. 2026
  • According to the National Cancer Institute, esophageal cancer is a disease in which malignant cancer cells form in the tissues of the esophagus.
    — Angeline Jane Bernabe, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of malignant

Browse Nearby Words

malice
malicious
maliciously
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Cite this Entry

“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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