malefaction
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of malefaction
First recorded in 1375–1425 for an earlier sense; 1595–1605 for current sense; Middle English malefaccioun “impotence”; see malefactor, -ion
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.
Mr. Morris: There are these forces of malefaction, and then there’s one scene that I wanted to ask you about, where you make your argument for why Kennedy is a good man.
From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2011
The civilized and resourceful Inspector Francis Xavier Flynn is on duty here, spying out malefaction at something called the Rod and Gun Club, a secretive woodsy preserve for male members of the Eastern ruling class.
From Time Magazine Archive
"But it's against rule, sir; ye have committed nae malefaction."
From Guy Mannering by Scott, Walter, Sir
If the machine got rid of malefaction, it would, indeed, have a noble end.
From Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood by MacDonald, George
It is an age Of traders and of tricksters; all the high And hounded malefactors of great wealth Differ from the masses, in their wealth, indeed; But in their malefaction, not at all.
From Mr. Faust by Ficke, Arthur Davison
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.
