as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
both parties to the divorce showed a malign desire to make each other's future life utterly miserable
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to libel
to make untrue and harmful statements about
a candidate who believes that it is possible to win an election without maligning anyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of malign
Daniel R. Green, Baltimore Sun, 15 Dec. 2024
Project Texas would provide for a series of audits and code reviews of the algorithm in the United States, in which U.S. actors, including engineers at Oracle Corporation, would have an opportunity to detect any malign foreign influence over the recommendations engine.
—Emily Baker-White, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2024
Matthew Specktor, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
Some warnings have cited Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, willingness to undermine or malign institutions meant to constrain any president, and a combative style that strives to stretch executive power as far as possible.
—Victor Menaldo, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for malign 
Adjective
Other necessary actions would include reducing malign economic influence, curtailing their global trade, and tightening what would likely be a robust set of sanctions.
—Daniel R. Green, Baltimore Sun, 15 Dec. 2024
Project Texas would provide for a series of audits and code reviews of the algorithm in the United States, in which U.S. actors, including engineers at Oracle Corporation, would have an opportunity to detect any malign foreign influence over the recommendations engine.
—Emily Baker-White, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2024
Verb
There’s more to any city than just its image of itself, more even — perhaps especially — to this one, which has been endlessly maligned over the years for its very fixation on image.
—Matthew Specktor, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
Some warnings have cited Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, willingness to undermine or malign institutions meant to constrain any president, and a combative style that strives to stretch executive power as far as possible.
—Victor Menaldo, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for malign
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malign
Adjective
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
Fox News,
15 Feb. 2025
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Maloof is suing the city of Palm Bay, the Palm Bay Police Department and the officer on claims including malicious prosecution and false arrest.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Wright got so big on social media even Piers Morgan invited her to libel Jay Z and Beyonce on his platform.—
Rob Marriott,
VIBE.com,
30 Dec. 2024
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Though he was not named in the ad, Mr. Sullivan asserted he had been personally libeled by The Times and four Black ministers who were signed to the ad.—
David W. Dunlap,
New York Times,
22 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Immigrant advocates call those moves cruel and unnecessary.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
8 Feb. 2025
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The current government’s purposeful misrepresentation and defamation of DEI in such a comprehensively cruel and malicious manner deserves nothing less than personal and communal outrage and resistance.—
Dr. Tony Lux,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Nevertheless, Trump made attacking trans athletes a major issue on the campaign trail, even smearing Olympic gold medalist boxer Imane Khelif, a cis woman, as an abusive trans woman days before the November 2024 election.—
Samantha Riedel,
Them,
7 Feb. 2025
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Presently, my then-one-year-old son toddled into the room and proceeded to smear his sticky hands all over the walls of our den.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Nashville's Bad Idea is a wine bar and restaurant set in a former Presbyterian church that fell into disrepair after a vicious tornado.—
USA TODAY,
USA TODAY,
13 Feb. 2025
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By the time Hezbollah launched its bombardment of Israel in solidarity with Hamas' vicious attack on Israel, the militant Lebanese organization had managed to build a significant military capability under the nose of UNFIL and was more robust than ever before.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The people who have come to this country to no fault of their own, to seek asylum and to the members of the trans community are being so vilified, so horribly.—
Leigh Nordstrom,
WWD,
4 Feb. 2025
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Many of the posts, which were written in Spanish and shared by writer Sarah Hagi in a series of screenshots with Google translations on X, directly vilify Muslims.—
Dhanika Pineda,
NPR,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The two central characters, a mild bespectacled middle-school geek named Hal and his hateful abusive bully of a twin brother, Bill (both are played by Christian Convery), discover the monkey sealed away in a round box.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2025
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Indeed, Ye advertised his Yeezy website during the 2025 Super Bowl broadcast Sunday (Feb. 9), which aired amid a days-long storm of hateful tweets from the star targeting Jewish people.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
10 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near malign
Cite this Entry
“Malign.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malign. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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