malign 1 of 2

malign

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word malign different from other adjectives like it?

The words baleful and sinister are common synonyms of malign. While all three words mean "seriously threatening evil or disaster," malign applies to what is inherently evil or harmful.

the malign effects of racism

When could baleful be used to replace malign?

In some situations, the words baleful and malign are roughly equivalent. However, baleful imputes perniciousness or destructiveness to something whether working openly or covertly.

exerting a corrupt and baleful influence

When would sinister be a good substitute for malign?

The synonyms sinister and malign are sometimes interchangeable, but sinister suggests a general or vague feeling of fear or apprehension on the part of the observer.

a sinister aura haunts the place

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 malign
Adjective
Other necessary actions would include reducing malign economic influence, curtailing their global trade, and tightening what would likely be a robust set of sanctions. Daniel R. Green, Baltimore Sun, 15 Dec. 2024 Project Texas would provide for a series of audits and code reviews of the algorithm in the United States, in which U.S. actors, including engineers at Oracle Corporation, would have an opportunity to detect any malign foreign influence over the recommendations engine. Emily Baker-White, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2024
Verb
Nonetheless, Magdalene has been maligned by Church fathers throughout the centuries; in the present day, feminist scholars have championed her. Magdalene, appearing in scripture only fourteen times, belongs to a tangle of at least six women named Mary. Eliza Griswold, New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2025 The conference was maligned all year and played down to its reputation with only four total bids and just one team advancing to the Sweet 16. Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for malign
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malign
Adjective
  • These attacks work by causing a software package to access the wrong component dependency, for instance by publishing a malicious package and giving it the same name as the legitimate one but with a later version stamp.
    Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 29 Apr. 2025
  • The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 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
  • But this is the cruel and unreasonable state of this Administration's deportation policy.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Such evidence could support the view that incessant loud noise amounts to torture or cruel treatment towards cetaceans, in turn galvanizing support for a new right to be free from such harm.
    David Gruber, Time, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • They were usually surrounded by toddlers, soiling their pull-ups while smeared with frosting.
    Dan Ewen, Deadline, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Coogler opens with traumatized sharecropper Sammie (impressive newcomer Miles Caton), smeared with blood and fresh claw marks gouged into the side of his face, staggering mid-service into the church where his father preaches, clutching his guitar.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Sandhagen dispatched Edgar with a vicious flying knee 28 seconds into that bout.
    Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
  • With two hits, one hit-by-pitch and zero outs recorded, Williams then left the mound to a vicious chorus of boos as Aaron Boone summoned Mark Leiter Jr. — not Weaver — from the bullpen.
    Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Related article Transgender Awareness Week reveals a community in crisis Trans activists across the globe warn that the fierce public debate over their private lives has chipped away at protection for the marginalized and regularly vilified community in recent years.
    Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2025
  • And as rollbacks to DEI initiatives continue by the White House, which has removed Spanish-language versions of informational messaging and instituted policy that vilifies other languages, Latinos will suffer as a consequence.
    Alex Zaragoza, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Of note: Your Content must not be false, defamatory, misleading or hateful, or infringe any copyright or any other third-party rights or otherwise be unlawful.
    Catherine Pearson, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Now, imagine a flood of political images, hateful memes and mocking videos from domestic and foreign sources taking over social media.
    Ernesto Verdeja, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Malign.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malign. Accessed 6 May. 2025.

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