as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
both parties to the divorce showed a malign desire to make each other's future life utterly miserable
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to libel
to make untrue and harmful statements about
a candidate who believes that it is possible to win an election without maligning anyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of malign
Daniel R. Green, Baltimore Sun, 15 Dec. 2024
Project Texas would provide for a series of audits and code reviews of the algorithm in the United States, in which U.S. actors, including engineers at Oracle Corporation, would have an opportunity to detect any malign foreign influence over the recommendations engine.
—Emily Baker-White, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2024
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
Al-Thani suggested the bribery allegations were efforts to malign his country’s image unfairly.
—Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for malign
Adjective
Other necessary actions would include reducing malign economic influence, curtailing their global trade, and tightening what would likely be a robust set of sanctions.
—Daniel R. Green, Baltimore Sun, 15 Dec. 2024
Project Texas would provide for a series of audits and code reviews of the algorithm in the United States, in which U.S. actors, including engineers at Oracle Corporation, would have an opportunity to detect any malign foreign influence over the recommendations engine.
—Emily Baker-White, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2024
Verb
At a time when world leaders across politics, business, and religion too often malign and scapegoat LGBTQ people, my meetings with Pope Francis reinforced the power of our stories and our shared humanity.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
Al-Thani suggested the bribery allegations were efforts to malign his country’s image unfairly.
—Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for malign
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malign
Adjective
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This is the threat potential given commonalities despite seemingly different developers, and those links to malicious domains.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka filed a lawsuit against interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba on Tuesday, accusing her of malicious prosecution over his arrest outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility last month.—
Alexander Mallin,
ABC News,
3 June 2025
Verb
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In 2022, Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff, who presided over both trials, decided The Times was not liable for defamation while jurors were deliberating, that the error amounted to unfortunate editorializing but not libel.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
22 Apr. 2025
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As a new, inexpensive Chevrolet appeared in 1927 and The Dearborn Independent was sued for libeling a number of Jewish businessmen, Ford threw in the towel and apologized.—
George Pendle,
airmail.news,
15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But then perhaps that is her unsatisfying but depressingly undeniable point: there is no challenging minds this small, behaviors this cruel, spirits this mean.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
30 May 2025
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The reason Evin is infamous is because of its terribly cruel high security detention centers that are poorly supervised by the Prison Chief.—
Jeff Kaufman,
Time,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Also, faint objects appear even fainter because their light is smeared out.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
15 May 2025
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Smartmatic wants an even bigger payday than Dominion Voting Systems, which was similarly smeared by Fox News and settled a defamation lawsuit with the network in 2023 for a whopping $787 million.—
Marshall Cohen,
CNN Money,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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There are other objects of worship from the days when Japan’s Christians had to hide from vicious persecution, including a ceramic bottle of holy water from Nakaenoshima, an island where Hidden Christians were martyred in the 1620s.—
Foster Klug,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
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Years before the Kendrick Lamar and Drake imbroglio, Pusha T shared his own vicious diss track against the Canadian hip-hop superstar.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
3 June 2025
Verb
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Publicly vilified for freezing during the massacre, Gerald, an ex-school resource officer, lives under a shroud of shame, questioning his will to survive.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
22 May 2025
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Now, of course, politics gets involved, and the border gets less porous, and people get vilified on both sides.—
Josh Crutchmer,
Rolling Stone,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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Black said the synagogue has received hateful emails and phone calls.—
Rosario Del Valle,
Sun Sentinel,
3 June 2025
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Hamas, Iran, and their allies and ideological sympathizers in the West have flooded the world with their hateful lies and antisemitic incitement since October 7 — lies designed to demonize Israel, the Jewish people, and their supporters.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malign.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malign. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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