adjective
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characterized by malice
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motivated by wrongful, vicious, or mischievous purposes
Other Word Forms
- maliciously adverb
- maliciousness noun
- nonmalicious adjective
- nonmaliciously adverb
- semimalicious adjective
- semimaliciously adverb
- unmalicious adjective
- unmaliciously adverb
Etymology
Origin of malicious
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English malicius, from Old French, from Latin malitiōsus; malice, -ous
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.
Some have also warned that the legislation risks mandating excessive transparency about vital infrastructure facilities, which could be exploited by malicious actors.
From Barron's
The lawsuit said the filing of applications showed the property owner was pursuing a “confusingly similar” name and that infringement on the Mercados’ business was thus “willful, deliberate, and malicious.”
From Los Angeles Times
In his reply to the commissioner, Farage said he was "sincerely sorry" for the rule breaches adding that there had been "no malicious intent".
From BBC
Several US states have adopted legislation that serves as consumer protection against certain AI systems and deepfakes, but much of this applies mainly to malicious use or commercial purposes.
From Barron's
But the links in the email do not appear to be malicious, and the password reset process a user is guided through appeared to be legitimate.
From BBC
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.
