Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for maleficent. Search instead for maleficient.
Synonyms

maleficent

American  
[muh-lef-uh-suhnt] / məˈlɛf ə sənt /

adjective

  1. doing evil or harm; harmfully malicious.

    maleficent destroyers of reputations.
maleficent British  
/ məˈlɛfɪsənt /

adjective

  1. causing or capable of producing evil or mischief; harmful or baleful

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • malefic adjective
  • maleficence noun

Etymology

Origin of maleficent

1670–80; back formation from Latin maleficentia maleficence; -ent

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It’s really hard to predict all the maleficent uses,” said Giada Pistilli, principal ethicist at Hugging Face.

From Slate • Jan. 14, 2023

The actor, more often cast as likable and light, makes fairy-tale Flynn maleficent.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2014

We don’t see Maleficent before she becomes, well, maleficent.

From New York Times • May 29, 2014

We hope they’ll be enlivened by that maleficent spirit, the genius Loki.

From Time • Nov. 6, 2013

Bower watched her face with a maleficent confidence that might have warned her had she seen it.

From The Silent Barrier by Tracy, Louis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.