malaise
Americannoun
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a condition of general bodily weakness or discomfort, often marking the onset of a disease.
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a vague or unfocused feeling of mental uneasiness, lethargy, or discomfort.
noun
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a feeling of unease or depression
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a mild sickness, not symptomatic of any disease or ailment
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a complex of problems affecting a country, economy, etc
Bulgaria's economic malaise
Etymology
Origin of malaise
First recorded in 1760–70; from French, Old French, equivalent to mal- + ease
Explanation
If you are experiencing malaise, chances are you are feeling blue or looking green. Malaise is a slump; you're not feeling your best — either mentally or physically. Mal is French for "bad," and aise means "ease." When experiencing malaise, ease yourself down on the couch to recover. Malaise is frequently used figuratively to describe slumps that other things go through as well. The 20-year economic malaise in Japan is one example, but you'll also hear of educational malaise, political malaise, and even "a general malaise." Wherever you turn, there's malaise.
Vocabulary lists containing malaise
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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.
“Depression? Malaise? I would say confusion. Disorientation replaced the movie business,” he answered.
From Salon • Apr. 29, 2024
These speeches operate in the shadow of proper nouns: the Military-Industrial Complex Speech, the Berlin Speech, the Malaise Speech.
From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2018
Taylor’s books include “Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity,” “The Malaise of Modernity,” and “Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 5, 2016
Unjust Malaise effectively rewrote the history of post-war American New Music, restoring to its narrative a gay black voice creating a liberating, high-energy form of organic minimalism.
From The Guardian • Sep. 14, 2016
She told me "little Malaise" is to be brought up after the most recently approved scientific manner, by weight, measure, and clockwork.
From The Galaxy, May, 1877 Vol. XXIII.—May, 1877.—No. 5. 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.
