malignancy

[ muh-lig-nuhn-see ]

noun

, plural ma·lig·nan·cies

1. the quality or condition of being malignant.
2. malignant character, behavior, action, or the like:

   the malignancies of war.

3. a malignant tumor.

malignancy

/ məˈlɪɡnənsɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being malignant
2. pathol a cancerous growth

Other Words From

• nonma·lignance noun
• nonma·lignan·cy noun plural nonmalignancies

Word History and Origins

Origin of malignancy¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; malign(ant) + -ancy

Example Sentences

The GOP’s us vs. them selfish political paradigm follows the malignancy of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and lays bare its destructive force of unlimited money in politics: The extremely wealthy aren’t dependent on free supplies of clean water, they can import private tanks and install their own desalination equipment if it comes to that.

From Salon

In recent years, new studies, including work by Maximiliano D'Angelo, Ph.D., associate professor in the Cancer Metabolism and Microenvironment Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys, have noted that NPCs in cancer cells are different, but how these alterations contribute to malignancy and tumor development -- or even how NPCs function in normal cells -- is poorly understood.

From Science Daily

Ion channels are gateways within cells that tightly control the inward and outward flow of essential ions, such as potassium and calcium, and are thought to be critically linked to cancer malignancy and progression.

From Science Daily

"Silencing of the SIX2 gene, on the other hand, significantly reduced the malignancy of cancer cells that are resistant to hormonal therapies," Doctoral Researcher Noora Leppänen of the University of Eastern Finland notes.

From Science Daily

In contrast, the other chromosomal alteration, a trisomy of chromosome 19, was not present in the foetus, but was found in all tumour cells, suggesting that it contributes to increasing the malignancy of the leukemic cells.

From Science Daily