malignity

[ muh-lig-ni-tee ]

noun

, plural ma·lig·ni·ties

1. the state or character of being malign; malevolence; intense ill will; spite.
2. a malignant feeling, action, etc.

malignity

/ məˈlɪɡnɪtɪ /

noun

1. the condition or quality of being malign, malevolent, or deadly
2. often plural a malign or malicious act or feeling

Other Words From

• nonma·ligni·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of malignity¹

1350–1400; Middle English malignitee, from Latin malignitās. See malign, -ity

Synonym Study

See malevolence.

Example Sentences

His Cyrano is the play’s hero, even if the character’s psychological limitations are as much a factor in the story as the machinations of De Guiche, whose malignity is sent up in Nathanson’s flamboyantly comic turn.

From Los Angeles Times

But one does not have to credit Beijing with any unique malignity to believe it is imprudent for China to effectively operate a global monopoly on green technology.

From Slate

His malignity and psychopathology seem to attract followers when these same characteristics should repulse people.

From Salon

“Mr. Spoto dutifully records all the meanness and malignity of Hitchcock’s character — such as the strong signs of a sadistic attitude toward women,” Mr. Grenier wrote, “but, since he worships Hitchcock’s art, he goes to sometimes desperate lengths to show how all these character failings ‘enrich’ his work.”

From New York Times

It was reptilian, insensate, Coleridge’s monster of “motiveless malignity.”

From New York Times