malevolent
Americanadjective
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wishing evil or harm to another or others; showing ill will; ill-disposed; malicious.
His failures made him malevolent toward those who were successful.
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evil; harmful; injurious.
a malevolent inclination to destroy the happiness of others.
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Astrology. evil or malign in influence.
adjective
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wishing or appearing to wish evil to others; malicious
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astrology having an evil influence
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of malevolent
First recorded in 1500–10; from Latin malevolent-, stem of malevolēns “ill-disposed, spiteful,” from male- male- + volēns “wanting” (present participle of velle “to want, wish for, desire”; see also will 1)
Explanation
If someone is malevolent, they wish evil on others. If you find yourself approaching someone with a malevolent look in her eye, best to run the other way. Malevolent comes from the Latin word malevolens, which means "ill-disposed, spiteful"; its opposite is benevolent, which means "wishing good things for others." A malevolent person might display satisfaction at someone else's problems. But it's not only individuals who can be malevolent. If you think that television violence influences viewers to violence, you see television as a malevolent force. The stress is on the second syllable: muh-LEV-uh-lent.
Vocabulary lists containing malevolent
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Take the Bad with the Good: Bene and Mal
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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.
And we have some fun watching Redmayne in a cave doing a sidestepping dance with malevolent crustaceans, during which I pondered that Malevolent Crustaceans would be a good name for a band.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 11, 2022
Malevolent aliens interrupt five collegians’ vacation at a remote woodland cabin.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2019
She is also set to star on the big screen in horror film Malevolent, wrestling comedy Fighting With My Family and action thriller The Commuter, all set for release this year.
From BBC • Jan. 4, 2018
Malevolent trolling has caused increasing concern in recent years.
From Washington Post • Jul. 20, 2015
“My name is Mellifluent. My sisters gave me the name Malevolent to make your kind fear me!”
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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.
