malaise

noun

mal·​aise mə-ˈlāz 

ma-,

-ˈlez 

1

: an indefinite feeling of debility or lack of health often indicative of or accompanying the onset of an illness

An infected person will feel a general malaise.

2

: a vague sense of mental or moral ill-being

a malaise of cynicism and despair

—Malcolm Boyd

Did you know?

A recipe: combine a handful of the blahs, a pinch of the blues, and maybe a soupçon of ennui, season generously with “under the weather,” and voila, you’ve got yourself the stew of sinking sensations known as malaise. Malaise, whose Old French ancestor was formed from the combination of mal (“bad”) and aise (“comfort”), has been a part of English since the mid-18th century. It originally referred to a vague feeling of weakness or discomfort accompanying the onset of an illness—a meaning still in use today when a virus or other malady starts producing symptoms—but has since broadened to cover a general, ominous sense of mental or moral ill-being.

Examples of malaise in a Sentence

The symptoms include headache, malaise, and fatigue.

An infected person will feel a general malaise.

The country's current economic problems are symptoms of a deeper malaise.

Recent Examples on the Web

In areas at extreme fire risk, from the Santa Cruz Mountains to rural corners of Northern California, fewer buyers could mean falling home prices, straining local tax bases and stunting efforts to emerge from the state’s lingering post-pandemic economic malaise. —Jovi Dai, The Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2025

Democratic candidates have traditionally won both districts easily, but some in the party had worried that a post-election malaise could jeopardize one or both of the seats. —Reid J. Epstein, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025

To her, Mishima was a true rebel responding to a modern Japanese malaise. —Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025

Both truths do nothing to calm anxiety about creative malaise. —Jake Kanter, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French malaise, from Old French, from mal- + aise comfort — more at ease

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

malaise

noun

mal·​aise mə-ˈlāz  ma- 

-ˈlez

: a hazy feeling of not being well

Medical Definition

malaise

noun

mal·​aise mə-ˈlāz  ma- 

-ˈlez

: an indefinite feeling of debility or lack of health often indicative of or accompanying the onset of an illness

fever, malaise, and other flu-like symptoms

—Larry Thompson