malcontent
Americanadjective
-
not satisfied or content with currently prevailing conditions or circumstances.
-
dissatisfied with the existing government, administration, system, etc.
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of malcontent
Explanation
A malcontent is someone who's always dissatisfied. The guy at the restaurant who sends back the steak because it's too rare, then sends it back a second time complaining that it's not rare enough — he's a malcontent. Malcontent is often used to describe people who complain about more important things than steaks — things like social and political injustice. In Shakespeare's day, the Malcontent was a popular character type. Hamlet was a classic Malcontent. He believed that his uncle, King Claudius, murdered his father for power, and it made him angry that everyone else seemed to think that Claudius was a good person.
Vocabulary lists containing malcontent
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Take the Bad with the Good: Bene and Mal
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
John McCain (1936 - 2018) Tribute List
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Perhaps deep in the movie’s own subterranean basement of ideas, “Hokum” is a modern take on Ebenezer Scrooge’s night terrors, only I wouldn’t put much stock in Scott’s malcontent turning his life around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
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
I worried that an appearance in Ossining might present some malcontent with an opportunity to come after me.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
