malicious

adjective

ma·li·cious mə-ˈli-shəs How to pronounce malicious (audio)

: having or showing a desire to cause harm to someone : given to, marked by, or arising from malice

malicious gossip

maliciously adverb

maliciousness noun

Did you know?

Malicious, Malevolent, and Malice

Malicious and malevolent are close in meaning, since both refer to ill will that desires to see someone else suffer. But while malevolent suggests deep and lasting dislike, malicious usually means petty and spiteful. Malicious gossipers are often simply envious of a neighbor's good fortune. Vandals may take malicious pleasure in destroying and defacing property but usually don't truly hate the owners. Malice is an important legal concept, which has to be proved in order to convict someone of certain crimes such as first-degree murder.

Example Sentences

… she is an inspired hater, and thrills to malicious descriptions of long-forgotten, nameless individuals whose bad luck it was to live near her, or to have met her socially.

Joyce Carol Oates, New York Times Book Review, 5 Nov. 2000 A cunning and malicious crook who suckered him without half trying.

Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997 Frank sensed her discomfort and took a certain malicious pleasure in it, enacting all the while his perfect innocence.

John Updike, The Afterlife, 1994 a malicious distortion of the truth the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip

Recent Examples on the Web Both malicious and benign apps use code libraries to interact with the OS kernel.

Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 30 Aug. 2022 LastPass said that a malicious or bad actor last year may have tried to access user accounts with information obtained from unaffiliated services that had been breached.

Alyssa Lukpat, WSJ, 26 Aug. 2022 The complaint accuses the defendants of malicious, wanton and deliberate indifference to Stephenson's conditions and history.

Bruce Vielmetti, Journal Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2022 Renaming schools named in honor of historical figures thought to be malicious or insufficiently moral has become a popular trend in the United States.

Fox News, 20 Aug. 2022 The image posted by me on a political Facebook page was not done with any malicious or harmful intent.

Chuck Johnston, CNN, 20 Aug. 2022 The image posted by me on a political Facebook page was not done with any malicious or harmful intent.

Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 19 Aug. 2022 The image posted by me on a political Facebook page was not done with any malicious or harmful intent.

Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY, 19 Aug. 2022 Cicada, a hacking group allegedly backed by the Chinese government, uses VLC Media Player to deploy malicious malware attacks.

Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 17 Aug. 2022 See More

单词	maliciously
释义	malicious adjective ma·li·cious mə-ˈli-shəs : having or showing a desire to cause harm to someone : given to, marked by, or arising from malice malicious gossip maliciously adverb maliciousness noun Did you know? Malicious, Malevolent, and Malice Malicious and malevolent are close in meaning, since both refer to ill will that desires to see someone else suffer. But while malevolent suggests deep and lasting dislike, malicious usually means petty and spiteful. Malicious gossipers are often simply envious of a neighbor's good fortune. Vandals may take malicious pleasure in destroying and defacing property but usually don't truly hate the owners. Malice is an important legal concept, which has to be proved in order to convict someone of certain crimes such as first-degree murder. Synonyms bad [slang] bitchy catty cruel despiteful hateful malevolent malign malignant mean nasty spiteful vicious virulent See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences … she is an inspired hater, and thrills to malicious descriptions of long-forgotten, nameless individuals whose bad luck it was to live near her, or to have met her socially. Joyce Carol Oates, New York Times Book Review, 5 Nov. 2000 A cunning and malicious crook who suckered him without half trying. Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997 Frank sensed her discomfort and took a certain malicious pleasure in it, enacting all the while his perfect innocence. John Updike, The Afterlife, 1994 a malicious distortion of the truth the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip Recent Examples on the Web Both malicious and benign apps use code libraries to interact with the OS kernel. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 30 Aug. 2022 LastPass said that a malicious or bad actor last year may have tried to access user accounts with information obtained from unaffiliated services that had been breached. Alyssa Lukpat, WSJ, 26 Aug. 2022 The complaint accuses the defendants of malicious, wanton and deliberate indifference to Stephenson's conditions and history. Bruce Vielmetti, Journal Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2022 Renaming schools named in honor of historical figures thought to be malicious or insufficiently moral has become a popular trend in the United States. Fox News, 20 Aug. 2022 The image posted by me on a political Facebook page was not done with any malicious or harmful intent. Chuck Johnston, CNN, 20 Aug. 2022 The image posted by me on a political Facebook page was not done with any malicious or harmful intent. Howard Koplowitz \| Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 19 Aug. 2022 The image posted by me on a political Facebook page was not done with any malicious or harmful intent. Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY, 19 Aug. 2022 Cicada, a hacking group allegedly backed by the Chinese government, uses VLC Media Player to deploy malicious malware attacks. Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 17 Aug. 2022 See More Word History Etymology see malice First Known Use 13th century, in the meaning defined above Phrases Containing malicious malicious mischief malicious mischief Kids Definition malicious adjective ma·li·cious mə-ˈli-shəs : feeling or showing a desire to cause harm to another person malicious gossip Legal Definition malicious adjective ma·li·cious mə-ˈli-shəs : given to, marked by, or arising from malice malicious destruction of property maliciously adverb as in villainously in a mean or spiteful manner maliciously tried to ruin her reputation Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance villainously hatefully despitefully spitefully viciously malevolently bitterly malignantly wickedly nastily virulently venomously hostilely cattily vindictively bitchily disagreeably cruelly callously contemptuously obnoxiously heartlessly invidiously mercilessly disdainfully ruthlessly antagonistically scornfully meanly resentfully caustically vituperatively unfeelingly jealously pitilessly unkindly diabolically insensitively inhumanely ungraciously enviously rancorously acrimoniously balefully fiendishly soullessly ill envyingly deprecatingly felly thoughtlessly caddishly inconsiderately evil-mindedly misanthropically kindlessly hard-heartedly ill-naturedly Antonyms & Near Antonyms benevolently kindly graciously pleasantly genially agreeably cordially lovingly amiably affably benignantly thoughtfully altruistically nicely sensitively considerately humanely sympathetically soulfully solicitously mercifully compassionately good-naturedly gently sweetly feelingly divinely tenderly good-humoredly kindheartedly good-heartedly angelically softheartedly See More
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malicious

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Phrases Containing malicious

Kids Definition

adjective

Legal Definition

adjective

adverb