as in malice
the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm
one of the characters in the novel is a cruel oppressor of such malignity that he came to be one of the most famous villains in all of literature
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of malignity
His Cyrano is the play’s hero, even if the character’s psychological limitations are as much a factor in the story as the machinations of De Guiche, whose malignity is sent up in Nathanson’s flamboyantly comic turn.
—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Sep. 2024
For a decade, the central drama of Trumpism has concerned the Republican élites who continued to support him—the story has been about their malignity, or opportunism, or willful moral blindness.
—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
The New Yorker,
16 Sep. 2023
Though Bilger does not quite say so, his grandfather emerges as a case study in the capacity for compartmentalization that is arguably more destructive of morality than outright malignity.
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Fintan O’Toole,
The New York Review of Books,
20 July 2023
In a landscape of such confused malignity as capital-p Publishing, who actually suffers from an act like June’s?
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Zoe Hu,
Washington Post,
12 May 2023
American exceptionalism has two faces, equally transfixed with a sense of specialness—one radiant with the nation’s unique beneficence, the other sunk in its unrivaled malignity.
—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
21 Nov. 2022
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Sep. 2024
For a decade, the central drama of Trumpism has concerned the Republican élites who continued to support him—the story has been about their malignity, or opportunism, or willful moral blindness.
—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
The New Yorker,
16 Sep. 2023
Though Bilger does not quite say so, his grandfather emerges as a case study in the capacity for compartmentalization that is arguably more destructive of morality than outright malignity.
—
Fintan O’Toole,
The New York Review of Books,
20 July 2023
In a landscape of such confused malignity as capital-p Publishing, who actually suffers from an act like June’s?
—
Zoe Hu,
Washington Post,
12 May 2023
American exceptionalism has two faces, equally transfixed with a sense of specialness—one radiant with the nation’s unique beneficence, the other sunk in its unrivaled malignity.
—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
21 Nov. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malignity
Noun
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Although Ashley had alleged things like malice, ill-will and improper motives by Adam, that still fell short of proving that Adam knew that his statements were false.
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The documentary explores the dark web of fraud, deception and malice that led Parker to feign a pregnancy to try to bolster her relationship with boyfriend Wade Griffin — and when her fake due date passed, kill Hancock for her baby, Braxlynn Sage.
Noun
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One common misconception is that lionfish are inedible because of their venom.
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Allergic reactions and anaphylaxis have been reported in patients using bee venom therapy.
Noun
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These passages highlight the typically human cruelty and hypocrisy of fighting for one’s own liberty while denying it to one’s neighbors.
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Last week, Dixon also pleaded no contest to the three felony animal cruelty charges.
Noun
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Police investigations showed that the pair are suspected of displaying seditious items and selling publications with seditious content inside the shop, including materials inciting hatred against the city's government, the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, the government said.
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Not drinking seemed to me synonymous with a hatred of pleasure, a fascist quest for purity.
Cite this Entry
“Malignity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malignity. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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