malign
/məˈlaɪn/
malign adjective: evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.
Adjective
malign (comparative more malign, superlative most malign)
- Evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.
- Witchcraft may be by operation of malign spirits.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted...
- It may be true that such running is exceptional rather than normal; there are still innumerable checks of one kind or another, many of them, alas, directly or indirectly the result of engine failures; and bad coal has often a malign influence.1951 February, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 119
- Malevolent.
- He was sure they [the stars] were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign significance.1891, Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
- Malignant.
- a malign ulcer
- malign ulcers1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Seditions and Troubles”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC
Verb
malign (third-person singular simple present maligns, present participle maligning, simple past and past participle maligned)
- To make defamatory statements about; to slander or traduce.
- To be envied and shot at; to be maligned standing, and to be despised falling.1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London
- The obvious joy of England's players and supporters after that dramatic finale was another indicator that the Uefa Nations League, mocked and maligned at its inception, is capturing the public's imagination.2018 November 18, Phil McNulty, “England 2 - 1 Croatia”, in BBC Sport
- To treat with malice; to show hatred toward; to abuse; to wrong.
- The people practice what mischiefs and villainies they will against private men, whom they malign by stealing their goods, or murdering them.1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […]...
malign meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
malign in Tamil
- கெடுதல் விளை, பழிதூற்று
malign in Urdu
- خطرناک, مضر, نیش زن, بدنامی کرنا, جھوٹا الزام لگانا, کینہ پروری کرنا
malign in Bengali
- মন্দ বলা, কলঙ্ক রটানো, ক্ষতিকর, অপকারী, মারাত্মক
malign in Malayalam
- ദുഷ്ടമായ, ആപത്കാരിയായ, ഗ്രഹപ്പിഴയുള്ള
More languagesFewer languages
- malign in Kannada
- ಕೆಟ್ಟದ್ದನ್ನು ಹೇಳು, ದೂಷಿಸು, ಕೇಡು ಮಾಡು, ಅಪವಾದ ಹೊರಿಸು
- malign in Sanskrit
- नारक
Synonyms of malign
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of malign
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more malign |
| superlative | most malign |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | maligns |
| present participle | maligning |
| past participle | maligned |
| past | maligned |
Origin of malign
From Middle English maligne, from Old French maligne, from Latin malignus, from malus (“bad”) + genus (“sort, kind”). Compare benign.
Words formed from malign
Words that rhyme with malign
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- design
- divine
- combine
- pine
- spline
- swine
- consign
- frankenstein
- nine
- refine
- vine
- whine
- benign
- chine
- in line
- intertwine
- recline
- resign
- rine
- undermine
- wine
- affine
- anodyne
- dine
- gold mine
- incline
- opine
- outshine
- propine
- red line
- shrine
- syne
- tine
- trunk line
- tyne
- atrine
- berine
- bine
- brine
- cline
- confine
- disentwine
- einstein
- equine
- offline
- quine
- repine
- rhine
Questions about malign
- What does malign mean?
- Malign means evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.
- What is malign in Tamil?
- Malign in Tamil is கெடுதல் விளை, பழிதூற்று. See Malign meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is malign?
- Malign can be an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce malign?
- Malign is pronounced /məˈlaɪn/.
Words near malign in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: malign (page history and authors); malign (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); malign (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); malign (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); malign (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); malign (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); नारक (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-malign.ogg.
Cite this entry: “malign.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/malign. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.