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
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has malignedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have malignedperfect
-
am maligningprogressive 1st person singular
-
have been maligningperfect progressive
-
has been maligningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
malignssingular 3rd person
-
maligningparticiple
-
is maligningprogressive 3rd person singular
-
are maligningprogressive
Past
-
had malignedperfect
-
was maligningprogressive singular
-
malignedparticiple
-
were maligningprogressive plural
-
had been maligningperfect progressive
-
malignedsimple
Future
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.
Yet that’s also how Malone feels about the current climate of Hollywood — a once-stable neighborhood fending off malign forces.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
He added that measures "to deal with malign state actors" were also needed.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
Schumer in his statement, noted that “Iran’s malign regional activities, nuclear ambitions, and harsh oppression of the Iranian people demands American strength, resolve, regional coordination, and strategic clarity.”
From Slate • Mar. 4, 2026
They expect us to “consider the source of their ideas, or the cultural influences upon them, which are often malign and give them perverse incentives to acquire the ‘mind-forg’d manacles’ with which they live.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
And another: “Malcolm X is one of our most significant and miltant leaders. We are in a battle. Efforts will be made to malign and discredit him. ...”
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
