as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
both parties to the divorce showed a malign desire to make each other's future life utterly miserable
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to libel
to make untrue and harmful statements about
a candidate who believes that it is possible to win an election without maligning anyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of malign
Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025
The wealthy are seen as playing a malign role in society.
—Richard Edelman, TIME, 19 Jan. 2025
Bennet Goldstein, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025
Players of all types of AAA games often take to Reddit and social media to malign day-one patches as a frustrating annoyance for modern titles.
Battlefield 2042 had a sizable day-one patch.
—ArsTechnica, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for malign
Adjective
Meanwhile the promise of this huge improvement in battery performance could have a malign influence on today’s EV sales, as potential buyers delay, fearing being stranded with obsolete technology.
—Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025
The wealthy are seen as playing a malign role in society.
—Richard Edelman, TIME, 19 Jan. 2025
Verb
Trump’s administration had maligned so many communities, creating a coherent rallying cry seemed impossible.
—Bennet Goldstein, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025
Players of all types of AAA games often take to Reddit and social media to malign day-one patches as a frustrating annoyance for modern titles.
Battlefield 2042 had a sizable day-one patch.
—ArsTechnica, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for malign
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malign
Adjective
-
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, which potentially accesses your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
When Tony's security company faces an attack from unknown malicious forces, the family goes on the run across Europe while figuring out who is after them, according to Paramount.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In 2022, Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff, who presided over both trials, decided The Times was not liable for defamation while jurors were deliberating, that the error amounted to unfortunate editorializing but not libel.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
22 Apr. 2025
-
As a new, inexpensive Chevrolet appeared in 1927 and The Dearborn Independent was sued for libeling a number of Jewish businessmen, Ford threw in the towel and apologized.—
George Pendle,
airmail.news,
15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Because of the cruel math of throughput and utilization, over ten days, only three hundred people experienced Blur.—
Charlie Fink,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Tamra was awful to Gretchen back then, culminating in the Naked Wasted Party, which was one of the cruelest things to ever happen on Housewives.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Rubbing will smear the mud and cause a bigger problem.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Jason’s windshield was smeared, and the late-afternoon sunlight came through hazily.—
Akhil Sharma,
New Yorker,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Once infected, the body demands even more energy to fend off infection, leading to a vicious cycle.—
Michal Ruprecht,
NPR,
8 Sep. 2025
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Masked country crooner Orville Peck will keep his face covered while playing Vega, the vicious fighter who uses metal claws as one of his weapons.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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There is great risk in potentially vilifying one of the most prescribed medications that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved and determined to be safe and effective for the treatment of mental illness, Brendel said.—
Kristen Rogers,
CNN Money,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Undocumented immigrants are sometimes vilified while their employers escape criticism, according to Bradley, a retired attorney whose career represented business interests.—
Rick Barrett,
jsonline.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Jack Osbourne has zero tolerance for hateful comments towards his late father, Ozzy Osbourne.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
FOXNews.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
YouTube videos posted from an account linked to Westman show a cache of weapons with racist, homophobic, antisemitic and hateful language against Muslims and other minority groups.—
John Bacon,
USA Today,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malign.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malign. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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