malcontent

American  

[mal-kuhn-tent] / ˌmæl kənˈtɛnt /

adjective

1. not satisfied or content with currently prevailing conditions or circumstances.

2. dissatisfied with the existing government, administration, system, etc.

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noun

1. a malcontent person, especially one who is chronically discontented or dissatisfied.

   Synonyms:

   faultfinder, complainer, grumbler

malcontent British  

/ ˈmælkənˌtɛnt /

adjective

1. disgusted or discontented

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noun

1. a person who is malcontent

Other Word Forms

• malcontentedly adverb
• malcontentedness noun

Etymology

Origin of malcontent

1575–85; < Middle French, Old French; mal-, content ²

Example Sentences

Unable to recruit an impact hitter in free agency, the Giants turned their attention to the trade market and acquired a distressed asset in malcontent Rafael Devers.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2025

If a coworker or kin finds herself cornered in a dour discussion with the malcontent, she will activate the most creative parts of her mind to engineer an excuse to exit the encounter.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2024

She’s the kind of malcontent who will, in all sincerity, accuse people of being “in cahoots.”

From New York Times • Feb. 29, 2024

Ducey, like Arizona’s first presidential nominee, Barry Goldwater, is a cheerful malcontent.

From Washington Post • Dec. 7, 2022

As soon as you have revealed your intention to one malcontent, you give him the means to make himself content, since he can have everything he desires by revealing the plot.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli