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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However, having cars idle outside terminals or leaving a car behind, such as what happened during Monday’s incident, does present a security risk, Jeffries said.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
23 Oct. 2025
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Does faster Wi-Fi create an expectation that air travelers, once mostly idle up in the blue sky and clouds, will engage with the virtual world?—
Bruce Finley,
Denver Post,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was bummed out by Tech’s decision.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
24 Oct. 2025
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Democrats’ most visible strategy appears to be trying to bum a few bucks from the grassroots—when the grassroots’ greatest power is in protest, boycott, and other unified mobilization efforts.—
Sarah Stankorb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And don’t be fooled by spotless sheets.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Oct. 2025
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The fastball-splitter combo was working well for him again, while his 74 mph curveball was fooling hitters all night as well.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Somebody does something terrible and messes it up.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
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If your smartwatch tracking every heartbeat and sleep cycle hasn’t already given you health anxiety, Kohler wants to mess you up in a new way.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malinger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malinger. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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