malign
Americanverb (used with object)
adjective
-
evil in effect; pernicious; baleful; injurious.
The gloomy house had a malign influence upon her usually good mood.
- Synonyms:
- baneful
-
having or showing an evil disposition; malevolent; malicious.
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
- maligner noun
- malignly adverb
Etymology
Origin of malign
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English maligne, from Middle French, from Latin malignus; see mal-, benign
Explanation
If you malign someone, you badmouth them — just like the jilted girlfriend who tells the whole school her ex has bad breath and head lice. When you habitually malign people, you risk being described as "a malign influence" — in this case, malign is an adjective that describes a harmful or even evil person or thing. Whichever way you use the word, its connection to wickedness can be found in its Latin root, malignus, "wicked or bad-natured," which combines male, or "badly" and -gnus, "born."
Vocabulary lists containing malign
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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.
The most important “and, I think, malign, change” has been the arrival of social media—or “antisocial media,” as he calls them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
"We are not faulting the social media companies for failure to remove malign content from their platforms," Bergman told AFP.
From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the continued use of Diego Garcia was necessary to protect the base from "malign influence".
From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026
Dictators, autocrats and other malign actors strategically use humor as a type of diminutive to minimize their real intent and to distract the public and media.
From Salon • Jan. 18, 2026
The creatures returned to the attack: botched beasts, belonging to ages before bird or dragon or man, long since forgotten by the daylight but recalled by the ancient, malign, unforgetful power of the Stone.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
