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
as in malice
the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm
the maliciousness of some Internet trolls led the editor to start moderating comments on the site
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of malicious
Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025
Caton was charged with three felonies: unlawful firearm discharge at an occupied vehicle, assault with intent to murder and malicious injury to property.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2025
Four teenagers were charged in the shooting with with malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony unlawful assembly, officials said Wednesday.
—Charles Ventura, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2025
Jay, neé Shawn Carter, responded by suing both Doe and Buzbee in Alabama — where the accuser resides — arguing the case was a malicious and baseless smear attempt.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Adjective
Jamison Wagner, 40, faces two federal counts of malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives, the Department of Justice said in a press release Monday.
—Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025
Caton was charged with three felonies: unlawful firearm discharge at an occupied vehicle, assault with intent to murder and malicious injury to property.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2025
Four teenagers were charged in the shooting with with malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony unlawful assembly, officials said Wednesday.
—Charles Ventura, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2025
Jay, neé Shawn Carter, responded by suing both Doe and Buzbee in Alabama — where the accuser resides — arguing the case was a malicious and baseless smear attempt.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious
Adjective
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This was a vicious weaponization of your government.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
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Shauna may be the vicious Antler Queen now, but Lottie also played a role in Mari’s death.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Slightly off-topic comments can derail it so far away from the original point, and it isn't always done with malice.—
Peter Suciu,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
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To borrow another logical principle, Hanlon's razor: Don't ascribe to malice that which can be otherwise explained by rank incompetence.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Everybody else has no choice, really, other than to bring a cruel, narcissistic far-right leader to power.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2025
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Jokes that didn’t land with the squad The kids in Bad Influence say the pranks were the most cruel.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Chung also used a powerful MRI scanner to produce images of the octopuses’ brains and internal organs, discovering that the males had larger venom glands than females despite their smaller size.—
Jack Guy,
CNN,
13 Mar. 2025
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To take one example, biologists studying the venom of a Gila monster found a hormone that is the basis of the new generation of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic.—
Simon Montlake,
The Christian Science Monitor,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The antisemitic charge is a slur in its own right, tainting a broad range of institutions with a single hateful brush.—
Jonathan Zimmerman,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2025
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Prater, a graduate student in her first season with the Bulldogs, appeared to disable her comment section on some of her Instagram posts after facing an influx of hateful messages following the devastating injury Watkins suffered in the first half of their second round game.—
Paulina Dedaj,
FOXNews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Switching out a pump in a pit filled with raw sewage is nasty work.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
12 Apr. 2025
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The bear is back and things may stay nasty for the rest of 2025.—
Brett Owens,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The end of the first season saw Dream (Tom Sturridge) endeavor to become a gentler overlord of the Dreaming; meanwhile, Gwendoline Christie's malevolent Lucifer Morningstar plots with Roger Allam's Lord Azazel to foil Dream's plans, and wreak havoc on the entire waking world.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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There’s the stretching, straining tendrils of malevolent fungus living in the town’s pipes.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Several diss tracks followed, with the musicians hurling increasingly spiteful insults at each other relating to accusations of domestic abuse, exploitation and pedophilia.—
Winston Cho,
The Hollywood Reporter,
17 Mar. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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