malfeasance
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of malfeasance
First recorded in 1660–70; earlier malefeasance. See male-, feasance
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How does malfeasance compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Whenever you see the prefix "mal-," you know it's not good. Malfeasance is bad behavior, especially from officials or people who should know better. If nothing else, the mal- in malfeasance will alert you to the fact that something bad is going on. If you know French, fease-, faise- will ring a bell, as it often means "to do." You can probably then infer that malfeasance means "to do bad." Today, it's usually a bad deed done by an official or an organization. You wouldn't accuse a dog who peed on the carpet of malfeasance, but you would accuse a mayor who took a bribe of malfeasance.
Vocabulary lists containing malfeasance
Take the Bad with the Good: Bene and Mal
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Scythe
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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.
Malfeasance means “the commission of an unlawful act.”
From Seattle Times • Nov. 29, 2021
Mr. Daugherty’s visage serves as a reminder for Mr. Horowitz: Malfeasance is never far away.
From New York Times • Jun. 13, 2018
Malfeasance, mal-fē′zans, n. evil-doing: the doing of what one ought not to do: an illegal deed.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
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.
