Word of the Day

: May 29, 2009

malinger

verb muh-LING-gur

What It Means

: to pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness (as to avoid duty or work)

malinger in Context

The beautiful spring weather put Lynn in a mood to malinger, so she called in sick to work and headed to the park.

Did You Know?

Do you know someone who always seems to develop an ailment when there's work to be done? Someone who merits an Academy Award for his or her superb simulation of symptoms? Then you know a malingerer. The verb "malinger" comes from the French word "malingre," meaning "sickly," and one who malingers feigns illness. In its earliest uses in the 19th century, "malinger" usually referred to a soldier or sailor pretending to be sick or insane to shirk duty. Later, psychologists began using "malingering" as a clinical term to describe the feigning of illness in avoidance of a duty or for personal gain. Today, "malinger" is used in just about any context in which someone fakes sickness or injury to get out of an undesirable task.