malignadj.n.
/məˈlʌɪn/, U.S. /məˈlaɪn/ A. adj.† 4.
1. Of a thing: evil in nature and effects; baleful, gravely injurious. Of sin: †heinous (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > [adjective] > extremely
outrageousa1325
malignc1350
shrewda1387
malignant1568
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > [adjective] > harmful or injurious > very
balefulOE
wanlichc1275
grievous1340
malignc1350
maliciousa1398
venom1538
virulent1563
malignant1564
blasting1591
fatal1681
blighting1796
terminal1952
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 70 (MED) Treuþe hys þat þer no gile be Þourwe spousebreche maligne.
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 15 So feawe stondeþ styf To fytte aȝenis senne Maligne.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 83 All thing maling we dovne thring Be sicht of his signakle.
1594 H. Plat Jewell House 18 We shall finde the hop farre to exceede the wormwood in his maligne qualitie.
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. iii. xii. 620 It [sc. War] is of so ruinous and maligne a Nature; that together with all things els, she ruineth her selfe.
1693 T. P. Blount Nat. Hist. 116 Meconium is the courser and weaker [Gum], yet the more malign.
a1716 R. South 12 Serm. (1717) V. 434 A dark malign Shade always obscuring and eclipsing them.
1727 W. Harte Ps. cvii. 13, in Poems 236 The broad expanse of heav'n Their canopy, the ground of damp malign Their bed nocturnal.
1858 H. W. Longfellow Catawba Wine in Courtship Miles Standish 189 A poison malign Is such Borgia wine.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxviii. 101 Tomb'd in Troy the malign, in Troy the unholy reposing.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. III. cxv. 663 A struggle between two forces, the one beneficent, the other malign.
1933 Punch 6 Dec. 641/3 In the sphere of things political An atmosphere malign, mephitical, infects the universe.
1988 Grimsby Evening Tel. 28 Jan. 20 The malign influence of national TV continues to convince the viewer that he is receiving ‘the best’ by concentrating..on events in the large conurbations.
2. Of a disease, etc.: = malignant adj. 3a. disused.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > characteristics > [adjective] > violent or severe
grimc900
strongeOE
grievousc1290
burning1393
acutea1398
maliciousa1398
peracutea1398
sorea1400
wicked14..
malign?a1425
vehement?a1425
malignousc1475
angrya1500
cacoethe?1541
eager?1543
virulent1563
malignant1568
raging1590
roaring1590
furious1597
grassant1601
hearty1601
sharp1607
main1627
generous1632
perperacute1647
serious1655
ferine1666
bad1705
severe1725
unfavourable1782
grave1888
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 51v And he calleþ wicked or maligne [L. maligna] vlcerez..woundez þat ar made after þe heuedez or endez of þe musculez, & most of neruez.
?1541 R. Copland tr. Galen Terapeutyke sig. Dijv Suche an vlcere. I call it entyerly malygne & cacoethes.
1563 T. Gale Certaine Wks. Chirurg. iv. ii. f. 12 This vnguent is good against old & maligne vlcers.
1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII (1876) (modernized text) 12 A malign vapour flew to the heart, and seized the vital spirits.
1671 W. Salmon Synopsis Medicinæ iii. xxii. 415 It quencheth thirst, and abates the heat of Malign Feavers.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 813 In cases of so-called ‘precocious malign’ syphilis.
1947 Acta Oto-laryngologica Suppl. No. 65. 13 The case of malign tumours in the accessory sinuses and the ethmoidal regions.
3. Of a person, disposition, etc.: characterized by ill will; desiring or rejoicing in the suffering of others; malevolent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > ill-will > [adjective]
hateleOE
swartOE
ill-willinga1300
illc1330
ill-willeda1340
evil-willya1382
hatefula1400
malignc1429
malicea1500
maltalentivea1500
ill-willy15..
malevolent1509
malevolous1531
ill asposit1535
ill-givena1568
stomaching1579
malignant1592
gall-ful1596
gall-wet1597
ill-affecteda1599
unpleasant1603
evil-affected1611
gallsome1633
ill-meaning1633
ill-natured1645
unbenign1651
sullen1676
unbenevolent1694
reptilian1855
unbenignant1856
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > ill will, malevolence > [adjective]
hateleOE
balefulOE
swartOE
hatelyOE
ill-willinga1300
illc1330
ill-willeda1340
evil-willya1382
hatefula1400
malignc1429
malicea1500
maltalentivea1500
malevolent1509
malevolous1531
fiendisha1535
ill asposit1535
ill-givena1568
malignant1592
ill-affecteda1599
unpleasant1603
manless?1609
evil-affected1611
ill-willy1611
ill-meaning1633
ill-natured1645
swarthy1651
unbenign1651
reptile1653
sullen1676
maligning1687
unbenevolent1694
reptilian1855
unbenignant1856
c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 1616 Synnere vile & maligne.
a1450 (c1435) J. Lydgate Life SS. Edmund & Fremund (Harl.) 484 in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1881) 2nd Ser. 405 (MED) This eek his wil that thow, nat maligne To disobeie his lustis in no thyng, Into his hand thy kyngdam to resigne.
1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses Ep. Ded. sig. ¶iiiv Whose gentle fauour..shall counterpoyse..the maligne stomacks, and stearn countenances of the other.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 503 Aside the Devil turnd For envie, yet with jealous leer maligne Ey'd them askance. View more context for this quotation
1674 Govt. Tongue vi. §10 Some tempers are so malign, that they wish ill to all, and believe ill of all.
1747 J. Wesley Char. Methodist 9 The Love of God has purified his heart..from every unkind Temper or malign Affection.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. xx. 344 Guiltless of heart piercing scoffs Malign.
1862 E. Bulwer-Lytton Strange Story I. xxvi. 190 Or whether he was actuated by a malign and impish desire to upset the established laws of decorum.
1914 E. R. Burroughs Tarzan of Apes ix. 116 All day Tarzan followed Kulonga, hovering above him in the trees like some malign spirit.
1962 O. Manning Spoilt City xiv. 157 Von Flügel..stood over him with the malign stare of an old crocodile.
1985 G. Greene Tenth Man vii. 16/2 in Mail on Sunday 3 Mar. It was as if..some outwardly friendly but inwardly malign witch had granted him the boon of an inexhaustible purse, but a purse from which he could never draw more than three hundred francs.
a. Astrology. Exercising a baleful influence or effect. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > heavenly body > as influence on mankind > [adjective] > malign
maliciousa1398
maligna1475
malevolent1593
maleficial1601
malefical1603
malignanta1616
feral1647
malefic1652
malevolous1652
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 20245 Yt semeth as thow haddest ben Hih in the hevene..And axyd ther, off euery sterre, Ther coursys..And..Wych ar good, wych ar malygne Whan they shal entren any signe.
?a1591 King James VI & I Poems (1955) I. 127 The influence maling of starris coniurid.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §353 Saturn which is a planet Maligne.
1652 J. Gaule Πυς-μαντια 85 Whether the Planets have..those prime elementary qualities..in such different measures..as to make some of them benign, others of them malign in their influences [etc.].
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 313 Two Planets rushing from aspect maligne Of fiercest opposition. View more context for this quotation
1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) cxxi. v Thee the Moon's malignest Ray Shall never blast by Night.
b. In extended use. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Aa3v This dedicating of Foundations and Dotations to professory Learning, hath..had a Maligne aspect, and influence vpon the growth of Scyences. View more context for this quotation
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xvi. 147 The Genius of Disaster, with aspect malign, waved her sable wand.
B. n.
A malign person. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > ill will, malevolence > [noun] > person or thing displaying
devilOE
hatelc1175
fiendc1220
hellhoundc1340
foea1393
atterlingc1450
basilisk1477
ill-willerc1500
attercop1508
malign1536
ettercapa1583
demon1591
viper1596
dragon1600
ill-wisher1607
malevolent1609
malevolo1648
1536 Prymer Eng. & Lat. (STC 15993) f. 117 The maligne shall nat dwell nere the.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
malignv.
/məˈlʌɪn/, U.S. /məˈlaɪn/ a. intransitive. To act wickedly or sinfully, to do wrong. Also with against. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > evildoing or wrongdoing > do evil or wrong [verb (intransitive)]
misdoOE
lithera1300
malignc1425
to do (also play the) naught1594
to hold a candle to the devil1598
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 1766 (MED) Ay þe more he was to hem benigne, Þe more vngoodly ageyn hym þei malygne.
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) vi. 68 (MED) Now as a lamb tretable & benigne, Now lik a wolff of nature to maligne.
a1525 Contempl. Synnaris l. 639, in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 210 Now throu syn sa blyndit Is resoun The mair' of mercy þe ferrar' we malyng.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 56 Thocht paip or king wald sa maling To mak the word of God forlorne.
c1586 J. Stewart Poems (1913) 224 §97 Quho curssis him sall cursitlie maling.
a1600 (?c1535) tr. H. Boece Hist. Scotl. (Mar Lodge) ix. xvi. f. 329v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Maling Nochttheles he malignit and gaif him to hunting, quhen vtheris to deuocioun went.
b. transitive. To injure, wrong. Also figurative. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > act unjustly to [verb (transitive)]
to do (…) wrongc1220
wrongc1330
malign1432
injuryc1484
injure1597
to fuck over1961
to screw over1968
dork1969
to dick over1991
1432–43 in Cal. Proc. Chancery Queen Elizabeth (1827) I. p. xxiv John Harry..of hys malys & evele wylle ymagenyng by sotill craftys of enchauntement..malygnyd your said suppliant.
1605 J. Marston Dutch Courtezan iii. sig. E2 I doe malign my creation that I am subiect to passion.
2. † a. intransitive. To speak ill, inveigh; to utter slander or abuse. Also with against. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > slander or calumny > utter slander or calumny [verb (intransitive)]
missay?c1225
wrayc1330
malignc1425
slanderc1426
libel1570
deprave1600
calumniate1609
libellizec1620
sycophantize1636
disreport1655
scandalize1745
to sling (also fling, throw) mud1768
calumny1895
foul-mouth1960
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. 2643 (MED) Agayn my sort me list not maligne, But septer & crowne frely I resigne.
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 20391 And who that euere ageyn malygnes, They be but markys [etc.].
a1500 ( J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 617 (MED) This ffigure makith clere demonstracioun, Ageins which noman may maligne.
a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. CCxxiiii Luther & his adherentes, that moost of all maligneth agaynst this present article.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) iv. 24 Par chance sum inuyful detrakkers vil maling contrar me, sayand that [etc.].
1580 P. Hume Promine L'envoy 15 Gif, for all this, thay ceis not to maling [etc.].
a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 71 He malings, and vowes ther sould be graitter cause maid or anie forgiffnes cravit.
b. transitive. To speak ill or wrongly of, to traduce, slander.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > slander or calumny > slander or calumniate [verb (transitive)]
to say or speak shame of, on, byc950
teleeOE
sayOE
to speak evil (Old English be) ofc1000
belie?c1225
betell?c1225
missayc1225
skandera1300
disclanderc1300
wrenchc1300
bewrayc1330
bite1330
gothele1340
slanderc1340
deprave1362
hinderc1375
backbite1382
blasphemec1386
afamec1390
fame1393
to blow up?a1400
defamea1400
noise1425
to say well (also evil, ill, etc.) of (also by)1445
malignc1450
to speak villainy of1470
infame1483
injury1484
painta1522
malicea1526
denigrate1526
disfamea1533
misreporta1535
sugill?1539
dishonest?c1550
calumniate1554
scandalize1566
ill1577
blaze1579
traduce1581
misspeak1582
blot1583
abuse1592
wronga1596
infamonize1598
vilify1598
injure?a1600
forspeak1601
libel1602
infamize1605
belibel1606
calumnize1606
besquirt1611
colly1615
scandala1616
bedirt1622
soil1641
disfigurea1643
sycophant1642
spatter1645
sugillate1647
bespattera1652
bedung1655
asperse1656
mischieve1656
opprobriatea1657
reflect1661
dehonestate1663
carbonify1792
defamate1810
mouth1810
foul-mouth1822
lynch1836
rot1890
calumny1895
ding1903
bad-talk1938
norate1938
bad-mouth1941
monster1967
c1450 (?a1422) J. Lydgate Life Our Lady (Durh.) iii. 985 (MED) For it were veyne, nature to malingne..Ayeyne hir lorde.
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xi. 17 Bot eftirwart and ȝe maling thame, Tressoun.
1607 T. Walkington Optick Glasse xv. f. 83 I know some..that read a booke onely to snarle at, like curious curres, and maligne the authour.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 70 He was allways maligned, and persecuted by those, who were of the Calvinian Faction.
1718 Entertainer No. 30. 205 He is represented as a Tyrant and his Ministers malign'd of Persecution.
a1758 J. Edwards Hist. Redempt. (1782) iii. ii. 239 No other religion ever was so maligned age after age.
1831 D. Brewster Life I. Newton xii. 206 The party who had first disturbed the tranquillity of science by maligning its most distinguished ornament.
1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal II. x. 238 I don't want to malign a man who has treated me with exceptional kindness and cordiality.
1954 G. Greene End of Affair (1971) ii. vii. 84 The gross livid spots which covered his left cheek were almost like marks of distinction—I had maligned him, he could have no satisfaction in looking at himself in any glass.
1988 P. Toynbee End of Journey 355 To accept every experience as God-given is one of the most terrible ways of maligning God.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > spitefulness > feeling of spite > [verb (intransitive)]
malign?a1439
spitec1560
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > spite, malice > bear malice [verb (intransitive)]
spitc1386
malign?a1439
to bear malice1530
spitec1560
malice1587
to wish one at vinegar1774
bitch1915
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ii. 2848 (MED) He..Gan disdeyne to paien his truage And to maligne, in herte he was so wroth.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cxxiv. f. lxi Euer after they malygned agayne Theodobert.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 632/1 I malygne agaynst one, I beare hym malyce.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 865/1 I nothing maligne for that you haue doone to me.
1652 C. B. Stapylton tr. Herodian Imperiall Hist. xvii. 142 Maligning much at this her Daughters Honour.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > plot [verb (intransitive)]
subtlec1300
conspire1393
compass1430
malign?a1439
contrivec1440
machine?c1450
forthink1494
pretenda1500
practise1537
pack1568
brigue1580
machinate1602
manage1603
plot1607
tamper1607
faction1609
collogue1646
intriguea1714
to lay a scheme1826
scheme1842
angle1892
wheel and deal1961
?a1439 J. Lydgate tr. Fall of Princes (1494) ix. i. sig. E5v Whan any kingdom fyll in rebellyon Or gan malygne ageyn rome toun.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cii. f. xliv Thyse .ii. Bretherne newely maligned agayn theyr neuewe Theodobert..and entendyd by theyr malyce to byreue hym of the Lordshyp of Austracy.
1539 T. Cromwell in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell 21 Jan. (1902) II. 168 The said bishop..contynually studyeth and maligneth, howe he might annoye or greve hym.
a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) II. 85 They..still mallignit aganis the quene.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > hatred > hate inwardly or intensely [verb (transitive)]
hateeOE
i-veec975
nitheOE
inhatea1529
maligna1535
misbelove1545
stand1869
(I, etc.) wouldn't be seen (or found) dead in, with1924
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 37/1 The Queene and the Lordes of her bloode whiche highlye maligned the kynges kinred.
1564 T. Becon New Catech. in Wks. 411 b S. Stephen..did so litle malign his enemies, that he did not only frely forgeue them, but he also prayed vnto God for them.
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iii. sig. E2 What cause had they Horatio to maligne?
1604 R. Cawdrey Table Alphabet. Maligne, to hate, with purpose to hurt.
1612 J. Speed Theatre of Empire of Great Brit. i. xlvii. 92/1 The people of Dublin sent for him, and made him their King. Which Mure-card King of Ireland maligning, raised war.
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ ii. i. §4 Can we think that a Nation and religion so maligned as the Jewish were, could have escaped discovery, if [etc.].
1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 38 An ungrounded, odious, detestable Interest, so heartily, and so justly maligned.
a. transitive. To regard with envy; to grudge, begrudge. Obsolete.Very frequent during the 17th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > jealousy or envy > be jealous or envious of [verb (transitive)] > envy
envyc1386
invy1483
grudgea1577
malign1589
1589 P. Jones in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations i. 227 The King of Spaine,..maligning the quiet traffike which they vsed to and in the dominions..vnder the obedience of the Great Turke, had [etc.].
1590 ‘C. Curry-Knave’ Almond for Parrat 3 Didst thou so muche malign the successeful thriuings of the Gospell, that thou shouldst filche thyselfe..into our gouernement?
1594 T. Kyd tr. R. Garnier Cornelia iv. ii. 75 And rendring thanks to heauen as we goe, For brideling those that dyd maligne our glory, Lets to the Capitoll.
1611 Bible (King James) Ecclus. xlv. 18 Strangers conspired together against him, and maligned [Gk. ἐζηλωσαν] him in the wildernesse. View more context for this quotation
a1627 H. Shirley Martyr'd Souldier (1638) iii. sig. F2 No, no; the envious gods Maligne our happinesse.
1645 J. Milton Colasterion 22 This odious fool..maligning that any thing should bee spoke or understood, above his own genuine basenes.
1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures lvi. 220 They reap no benefit by their maligning the prosperity of others.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) To Malign, to envy; as To malign one's Happiness.
b. transitive. figurative. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1601 J. Marston et al. Iacke Drums Entertainm. ii. sig. D But now no more, bright day malings our loue.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage iii. i. 188 The scarcitie of wood and water, with the barrennesse of the Soyle..shew how it is maligned of the Elements.
1661 R. Boyle Some Consider. Style of Script. (1675) 87 Those Grounds, whose Surface bears no Fruit-Trees, (too much malign'd by the Arsenical and resembling fumes).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.n.c1350v.c1425