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
Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025
The wealthy are seen as playing a malign role in society.
—Richard Edelman, TIME, 19 Jan. 2025
Bennet Goldstein, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025
Players of all types of AAA games often take to Reddit and social media to malign day-one patches as a frustrating annoyance for modern titles.
Battlefield 2042 had a sizable day-one patch.
—ArsTechnica, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for malign
Adjective
Meanwhile the promise of this huge improvement in battery performance could have a malign influence on today’s EV sales, as potential buyers delay, fearing being stranded with obsolete technology.
—Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025
The wealthy are seen as playing a malign role in society.
—Richard Edelman, TIME, 19 Jan. 2025
Verb
Trump’s administration had maligned so many communities, creating a coherent rallying cry seemed impossible.
—Bennet Goldstein, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025
Players of all types of AAA games often take to Reddit and social media to malign day-one patches as a frustrating annoyance for modern titles.
Battlefield 2042 had a sizable day-one patch.
—ArsTechnica, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for malign
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malign
Adjective
-
In addition, users will be able to permanently block a user from quote-sharing any of their posts, as a hedge against malicious dunks.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
13 Sep. 2025
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That means malicious software is getting smarter, faster and harder to detect.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In 2022, Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff, who presided over both trials, decided The Times was not liable for defamation while jurors were deliberating, that the error amounted to unfortunate editorializing but not libel.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
22 Apr. 2025
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As a new, inexpensive Chevrolet appeared in 1927 and The Dearborn Independent was sued for libeling a number of Jewish businessmen, Ford threw in the towel and apologized.—
George Pendle,
airmail.news,
15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The cruel irony is that the very systems designed to promote inclusion can inadvertently reinforce exclusion.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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And of course, to serve as cruel juxtaposition, deGrom retired the Mets in order in the bottom of the inning on just six pitches.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ciarlo has been a beauty aficionado from her early age of sneaking into her mother's makeup drawer and smearing Joker-esque lipstick on her face.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
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Laptop screens get spattered, smeared, dusty, and dirty from frequent use.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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As and when evidence against that narrative comes out, either via six monthly reports or from some other source, the crash in the stock price will be more vicious than otherwise.—
Shivaram Rajgopal,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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In these homes, the conflict between budgeting and feeding kids well creates huge psychological stress for parents, which can lead to anxiety and depression, fueling the vicious cycle of stress and unhealthy eating, Beresin said.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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She has been valorized and vilified in equal measure throughout her life.—
Daniel Jonah Wolpert,
NPR,
8 Sep. 2025
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There is great risk in potentially vilifying one of the most prescribed medications that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved and determined to be safe and effective for the treatment of mental illness, Brendel said.—
Kristen Rogers,
CNN Money,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Political analyst Matthew Dowd took to MSNBC to say that Kirk’s hateful words had led to hateful actions.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
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In other words, Cartman is irate that Trump has stolen his hateful, vindictive shtick.—
Nick Marx,
The Conversation,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malign.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malign. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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