Synonym Chooser

How does the noun malignity differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of malignity are grudge, ill will, malevolence, malice, spite, and spleen. While all these words mean "the desire to see another experience pain, injury, or distress," malignity implies deep passion and relentlessness.

a life consumed by motiveless malignity

When would grudge be a good substitute for malignity?

Although the words grudge and malignity have much in common, grudge implies a harbored feeling of resentment or ill will that seeks satisfaction.

never one to harbor a grudge

In what contexts can ill will take the place of malignity?

The synonyms ill will and malignity are sometimes interchangeable, but ill will implies a feeling of antipathy of limited duration.

ill will provoked by a careless remark

When might malevolence be a better fit than malignity?

The meanings of malevolence and malignity largely overlap; however, malevolence suggests a bitter persistent hatred that is likely to be expressed in malicious conduct.

a look of dark malevolence

When is malice a more appropriate choice than malignity?

The words malice and malignity can be used in similar contexts, but malice implies a deep-seated often unexplainable desire to see another suffer.

felt no malice toward their former enemies

When can spite be used instead of malignity?

While in some cases nearly identical to malignity, spite implies petty feelings of envy and resentment that are often expressed in small harassments.

petty insults inspired by spite

Where would spleen be a reasonable alternative to malignity?

While the synonyms spleen and malignity are close in meaning, spleen suggests the wrathful release of latent spite or persistent malice.

venting his spleen against politicians

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 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. 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 Modernist malignity has long been a topic of discussion in architectural circles. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2022 Where Moyn is driven by a photonegative of American exceptionalism—a sense that American power is a singular force of malignity in the world—Arkin is concerned that this perpetual-war machine is at odds with America’s strategic interests. Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2021 Decades of miserable history had to pass before the comedy buried within their malignity was revealed, like a vein of ore uncovered by a natural catastrophe. Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malignity
Noun
  • Colt has been indicted on 55 felony counts, including four counts of malice murder, according to court documents, and has pleaded not guilty.
    Devon M. Sayers, CNN Money, 6 May 2025
  • Without it, little remained but his malice, his pettiness, and his insatiable appetite for revenge.
    Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • At another point, he’s forced to fight while on a psychedelic trip after ingesting toad venom.
    Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 7 May 2025
  • For example, in Papua New Guinea, most of the snakes produce neurotoxic venom.
    Ari Daniel, NPR, 2 May 2025
Noun
  • His father, Colin Gray, 54, has been indicted on 29 felonies including two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children.
    Devon M. Sayers, CNN Money, 6 May 2025
  • Is the austerity of her work simply regurgitated cruelty?
    Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 6 May 2025
Noun
  • The project educates students about the dangers of hatred and bigotry and the importance of standing against all forms of prejudice.
    Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2025
  • Meanwhile, Republicans such as our current president spew contempt like volcanoes of hatred, prejudice and madness.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Malignity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malignity. Accessed 22 May. 2025.

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