as in vicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of malicious
Another defendant, Lucy Grace Nelson, was charged in Colorado federal court on Feb. 26 with malicious destruction of property.
—
Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 20 Mar. 2025
Many of us inside and outside the Jewish community support the state of Israel as well as its right to defend itself, most especially following the Oct. 7, 2023 brutal and malicious terror attack.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2025
The United States has for decades positioned itself as a beacon of liberty, fighting to protect its citizens from corrupt governments and malicious justice systems abroad.
—Nelson Mauricio Rauda Zablah, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Mar. 2025
And so has Radio Free Asia, which is just as malicious toward China.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 20 Mar. 2025
Many of us inside and outside the Jewish community support the state of Israel as well as its right to defend itself, most especially following the Oct. 7, 2023 brutal and malicious terror attack.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2025
The United States has for decades positioned itself as a beacon of liberty, fighting to protect its citizens from corrupt governments and malicious justice systems abroad.
—Nelson Mauricio Rauda Zablah, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Mar. 2025
And so has Radio Free Asia, which is just as malicious toward China.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious
Adjective
-
This creates a vicious cycle: more applications lead to lower acceptance rates, triggering even more applications from worried students.—
Sarah Hernholm,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
-
However, some people develop unhelpful habits and ways of thinking about sleep that create a vicious cycle, said Krieger, who is also director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
What's particularly cruel about that reality is that after years of dealing with questions about his weight, the former Duke Blue Devil star played a career-high 70 games in 2023-24.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Here, Munir may be vaccinating chickens rather than grabbing them on their way to slaughter, but the work is just as thankless and cruel.—
Bartolomeo Sala,
The Dial,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Beauvais’ comments about fan support are likely in reference to the support she’s received when clashing with her castmates, as well as in season 12, when her teenage son experienced hateful online backlash.—
Jackie Strause,
The Hollywood Reporter,
25 Mar. 2025
-
This group includes canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, soybean, safflower, and sunflower oils. Skepticism of the hateful eight stems from the production process of many seed oils, which uses mechanical or chemical treatment.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Interestingly, the feeling of abandonment mirrors the animating force of the nastiest parts of the American manosphere: the belief that men got left behind.—
Doreen St. Félix,
The New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2025
-
The 30-year-old eked out a split decision win in a battle of women who came in on nasty losing streaks.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
On the flip side of things, Hopkins brings a malevolent gravitas to William, calling on his iconic tenure as Hannibal Lecter to play the car’s vindictive and psychopathic owner.—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
-
In that great play, part of the pleasure is teasing out when the host couple, George and Martha, are playing a malevolent prank on their guests or tearing each other apart for real.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The more spiteful Drake could smell a world of buff, misogynistic grifters taking hold and made sure to set up shop where the audience would be.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
7 Feb. 2025
-
But when he’s presumed dead after a tragic run-in with a pirate ship, our heroine is forced to take up with the spiteful Prince Humperdink—that is, until a masked man in black jumps in to save her.—
Gia Yetikyel,
Vogue,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Glioblastoma is the most common type of malignant brain tumor.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
25 Mar. 2025
-
Love's death was announced by her family on Sunday, March 23, in a post on X. Love, the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, in 2022.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
24 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share