malinger
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have malingeredperfect
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has malingeredperfect 3rd person singular
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is malingeringprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been malingeringperfect progressive
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malingerssingular 3rd person
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has been malingeringperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am malingeringprogressive 1st person singular
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malingeringparticiple
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are malingeringprogressive
Past
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had malingeredperfect
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was malingeringprogressive singular
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malingeredsimple
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malingeredparticiple
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had been malingeringperfect progressive
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were malingeringprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of malinger
First recorded in 1810–20; from French malingre “sickly, ailing,” equivalent to mal- “bad, ill” + Old French heingre “haggard” (perhaps from Germanic ); see mal-
Explanation
When you malinger, you pretend to be sick. If you ever claimed to have a stomach ache in order to stay home from school, you know what it means to malinger. The word malinger comes from the French malingre, which can mean "ailing or sickly," but its exact origin is uncertain. One theory says that mal, or "wrongly," suggests the sick person is just faking. Lying about a stomach ache, holding the thermometer near a light bulb, refusing to get out of bed, moaning — these are classic tactics of those who malinger, or pretend to be too sick to do anything but lie around the house.
Vocabulary lists containing malinger
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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.
If there’s one detriment, however, it’s the little brat playing Hank’s son: Ross Malinger.
From Time • Feb. 12, 2015
John Malinger, the 2010 Pebble Beach Invitational winner who also had three top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, had a 67, also at Del Monte.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 16, 2012
Seattle's Malinger claims that his favorite films are Cape Fear, Hot Shots! and Friday the 13th.
From Time Magazine Archive
Malinger, ma-ling′gėr, v.i. to feign sickness in order to avoid duty.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
During her school hours she had forgotten all the troubles of the day before, for Mr. Malinger had been as kind to her as ever.
From Cornelli by Spyri, Johanna
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.
