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
ArsTechnica, 2 July 2025
He has been much maligned throughout his NBA tenure for his motor and underperformance as a former top selection from the 2018 NBA Draft.
—Kambui Bomani, Forbes.com, 30 June 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
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
He has been much maligned throughout his NBA tenure for his motor and underperformance as a former top selection from the 2018 NBA Draft.
—Kambui Bomani, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for malign
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malign
Adjective
-
Some states are still without such laws, however, leaving resident vulnerable to malicious lawsuits.—
Angele Latham,
The Tennessean,
26 Aug. 2025
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At the same time, malicious actors will be planning out cyber attacks that exploit the vulnerabilities that come with the busiest online shopping season of the year.—
PCMag BrandX,
PC Magazine,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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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
-
Stefan, a vampire too gentle to drink human blood, eventually loses Elena to his brother, Damon, the cruel killer with a tender side just for her.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
29 Aug. 2025
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Logan Jentink, 29, and Sandra Zaluski, 23, of Fox Lake, each face three counts of child endangerment and five counts of cruel treatment of an animal.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Jason’s windshield was smeared, and the late-afternoon sunlight came through hazily.—
Akhil Sharma,
New Yorker,
28 Aug. 2025
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Presently, my then-one-year-old son toddled into the room and proceeded to smear his sticky hands all over the walls of our den.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Just as the Kremlin sought to quell dissent against its vicious campaign in the restive republic, so, too, has a deafening silence accompanied its Ukraine folly.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
31 Aug. 2025
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Set against a backdrop of vicious infighting between rival Scottish clans, the prequel began in wake of the sudden death of Ellen’s father, Red Jacob (Peter Mullan), who was the leader of Clan MacKenzie.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But rather than vilifying or muzzling proxy advisors, a few simple changes could make the proxy process more open, fair, and thoughtful.—
Sarah Keohane Williamson,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
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The menu addition fueled strong same-store sales growth and profits for the upstart chain. ‘Never been vilified’ Eateries are seeking to attract diners like Jared Hutkowski, a 42-year-old director of brokerage in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
9 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
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
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But what Grossenbach viewed as an exercise of religious beliefs was seen by others as hateful and terroristic.—
Taylor Seely,
AZCentral.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malign.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malign. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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