as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the novel grossly oversimplified the conflict as a struggle between relentlessly malevolent villains on one side and faultless saints on the other
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Recent Examples of malevolent
Greece also has its own folkloric malevolent Christmas creatures—the Kallikantzaroi—who, according to Greek News Agenda, are said to dwell underground all year round, surfacing only during the 12 days of Christmas (Dec. 25 through Jan. 6) to bring trouble to mortals.
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Chad De Guzman, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024
The question is woven through the story of two Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, both excellent) who answer the call of a man (Hugh Grant, wonderfully leaning into his malevolent side) who decides to challenge them on all of their beliefs.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
Venom: The Last Dance debuted in late October and starred Tom Hardy as a journalist who is possessed by Venom in a bid to stop even more malevolent aliens from invading earth.
—Caroline Reid, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
The threats to humankind’s empire are many: traitors driven by the fires of ambition, alien empires sworn to reclaim the stars and the corruption of reality by malevolent gods.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for malevolent 
Chad De Guzman, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024
The question is woven through the story of two Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, both excellent) who answer the call of a man (Hugh Grant, wonderfully leaning into his malevolent side) who decides to challenge them on all of their beliefs.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
Venom: The Last Dance debuted in late October and starred Tom Hardy as a journalist who is possessed by Venom in a bid to stop even more malevolent aliens from invading earth.
—Caroline Reid, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
The threats to humankind’s empire are many: traitors driven by the fires of ambition, alien empires sworn to reclaim the stars and the corruption of reality by malevolent gods.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for malevolent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malevolent
Adjective
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Last November, Skakel sued the town and the case’s lead investigator, seeking damages for alleged malicious prosecution, among other rights violations.Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 27 Dec. 2024
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Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth.Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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That's what's happened in House of the Dragon season 2's vicious civil war, the Dance of the Dragons.David Faris, Newsweek, 28 Dec. 2024
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The 2024 adaptation of Nosferatu, the second cinematic remake of the German Expressionist classic, stars horror mainstay Skarsgård (It, Barbarian) as the vicious Count Orlok.Celia Mattison, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Shahana Goswami plays the lead role of a widow who lands the job of a cop due to life’s cruel twists.Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
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In a cruel irony, revelers had gathered to welcome a new beginning.Matthew Continetti, National Review, 4 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Criticism is never easy to take, especially when it’s buried under snarky memes and hateful trolling.Molly McPherson, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
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Four major neo-Nazi accounts on X unmasked An investigation this week in the Texas Observer names the people behind four influential accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that have shared hateful neo-Nazi and white supremacist content with millions of users.Will Carless, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Malevolent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malevolent. Accessed 11 Jan. 2025.
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