as in malice
the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm
the reviewer was criticized not for his negative review of the singer's album but for the malignance with which he expressed his disapproval of her lavish lifestyle
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Recent Examples of malignance
This is a movement that many progressives view as promising to reinvigorate hearts and minds, but that others warn may deliver different doses of theological malignance.
—
Audrey Clare Farley, The New Republic, 3 Jan. 2022
Where purity culture twists normal desires into malignance?
—Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2021
By definition Mishler’s content attracts people seeking refuge, but the exceptional malignance of 2020 has colored both her videos and the attitude of her fan base.
—New York Times, 25 Nov. 2020
Consequently, the growth disruption itself has exacerbated the cultural and economic malignance that helped create the underperforming trend in the first place.
—David L. Bahnsen, National Review, 13 Feb. 2018
Audrey Clare Farley, The New Republic, 3 Jan. 2022
Where purity culture twists normal desires into malignance?
—Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2021
By definition Mishler’s content attracts people seeking refuge, but the exceptional malignance of 2020 has colored both her videos and the attitude of her fan base.
—New York Times, 25 Nov. 2020
Consequently, the growth disruption itself has exacerbated the cultural and economic malignance that helped create the underperforming trend in the first place.
—David L. Bahnsen, National Review, 13 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malignance
Noun
-
Global banks aren’t necessarily acting out of malice.—
Wale Ayeni,
semafor.com,
14 July 2025
-
Beneath the inevitable finger-pointing and politicizing, there is often a genuine, even desperate, human impulse to find fault not out of malice, but out of mourning and a desire to find solutions.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
Noun
-
Guitarist Tom Bukovac composed a flowing instrumental riff to open the performance, creating a little extra sweetness that helps hide the passive-aggressive venom.—
Tom Roland,
Billboard,
24 July 2025
-
Though a bite from any rattlesnake is dangerous and should be treated immediately, the Mojave rattlesnake packs one of the most potent venoms with a nasty neurotoxic twist that can affect your nervous system.—
Shelby Slade,
AZCentral.com,
24 July 2025
Noun
-
The new law adds to existing municipal ordinances that forbid animal cruelty or neglect, including leaving a pet in too small of a space or outside in the hot Florida sun.—
Shira Moolten,
Sun Sentinel,
3 July 2025
-
Miller faces four counts of cruelty to a companion animal and 34 counts of complicity.—
Aaron Valdez,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
Many were subjected to many forms of hatred spawned from these misunderstandings.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
21 July 2025
-
Despite his extensive progressive bona fides, Wertham’s hatred of the comics medium has forever branded him a right-wing zealot in the minds of comic fans.—
Vasilis K. Pozios,
HollywoodReporter,
18 July 2025
Noun
-
Most striking was the test’s ability to detect malignancies long considered unscreenable—pancreatic, ovarian, and others that had eluded surveillance.—
Siddhartha Mukherjee,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
-
Grail’s test identified malignancy in 1,453 of the cancer cases, missing it in 1,370.—
Siddhartha Mukherjee,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malignance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malignance. Accessed 2 Aug. 2025.
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