Malign

//məˈlaɪn// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make defamatory statements about; to slander or traduce. transitive

    "To be envied and shot at; to be maligned standing, and to be despised falling."

  2. 2
    speak unfavorably about wordnet
  3. 3
    To treat with malice; to show hatred toward; to abuse; to wrong. archaic, transitive

    "The people practice what mischiefs and villainies they will against private men, whom they malign by stealing their goods, or murdering them."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.

    "Witchcraft may be by operation of malign spirits."

  2. 2
    Malevolent.

    "He was sure they [the stars] were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign significance."

  3. 3
    Malignant.

    "a malign ulcer"

Adjective
  1. 1
    having or exerting a malignant influence wordnet
  2. 2
    evil or harmful in nature or influence wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
badmouthdrag through the mudevilmalefictraduceabandoned

Example

More examples

""Nay, Juno, too, who now, in mood malign, / earth, sea and sky is harrying, shall incline / to better counsels, and unite with me / to cherish and uphold the imperial line, / the Romans, rulers of the land and sea, / lords of the flowing gown. So standeth my decree.""

Etymology

From Middle English maligne, from Old French maligne, from Latin malignus, from malus (“bad”) + genus (“sort, kind”). Compare benign.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.