as in to lazy
to pretend to be sick or injured in order to avoid doing work
Because of his frequent absences, his boss suspected he was malingering.
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Recent Examples of malinger
The entire day felt dehumanizing, as if her nearly eight years with the company, her medical problems and her physical pain had been reduced to nothing more than malingering and scattered incidents of tardiness.
—
Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 2023
Goldstein, who did not return a message seeking comment, practices in Chicago and has lectured on the topic of malingering, according to a resume posted online.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
But when workers take advantage of the manager’s kindly nature to malinger or disrupt operations, the entire business is threatened.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2022
The decision against Robert Krebs came after a psychologist determined Krebs didn’t have a mental illness or cognitive impairment and was instead malingering to avoid prosecution for the robbery last year in Tucson.
—Jacques Billeaud, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2019
On Monday, prosecutor Stuart Silberg said Ms. Ortega could have been malingering, or faking her psychiatric state.
—Corinne Ramey, WSJ, 31 July 2017
The question is obviously especially consequential when deeming a person malingering means they could be put to death.
—James Hamblin, The Atlantic, 5 May 2017
Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 2023
Goldstein, who did not return a message seeking comment, practices in Chicago and has lectured on the topic of malingering, according to a resume posted online.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
But when workers take advantage of the manager’s kindly nature to malinger or disrupt operations, the entire business is threatened.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2022
The decision against Robert Krebs came after a psychologist determined Krebs didn’t have a mental illness or cognitive impairment and was instead malingering to avoid prosecution for the robbery last year in Tucson.
—Jacques Billeaud, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2019
On Monday, prosecutor Stuart Silberg said Ms. Ortega could have been malingering, or faking her psychiatric state.
—Corinne Ramey, WSJ, 31 July 2017
The question is obviously especially consequential when deeming a person malingering means they could be put to death.
—James Hamblin, The Atlantic, 5 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malinger
Verb
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Staff members watched from the doorway while two white school security SUVs idled nearby.—
Jaweed Kaleem,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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That means that, for 20 years, as the real ambulances would idle on set, the crew and actors would be inhaling the diesel fumes that being emitted from the loud, life-saving vehicles.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Rittenhouse admits to initially being bummed out to not be the murderer, only to quickly come around to preferring this outcome.—
Derek Lawrence,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Jan. 2026
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I'mPhaedra Trethan, bummed out about the passing of Raul Malo, lead singer of The Mavericks.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
9 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Just mess with you a little bit.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
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In her fifty-seven years of wandering, nobody had messed with her.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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To fool us into doubting our most obvious conclusions about how this story will unfold.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
26 Jan. 2026
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Don’t be fooled by the small bowl either.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Malinger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malinger. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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