maleficent
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of maleficent
1670–80; back formation from Latin maleficentia maleficence; see -ent
Explanation
When you're maleficent, you're evil or want to do evil things. So it's safe to say that Satan is one maleficent guy. This word is a bit old-fashioned and you don't hear it often. But there are still plenty of maleficent people in the world — they're the bad guys, the evil-doers, the folks who wish harm on others. Maleficent means something very close to malevolent or diabolical and is a lot stronger than naughty or mischievous.
Vocabulary lists containing maleficent
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
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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.
“It’s really hard to predict all the maleficent uses,” said Giada Pistilli, principal ethicist at Hugging Face.
From Slate • Jan. 14, 2023
“Publicly, they say the right things, expressing approval and joining in the chorus of voices that applaud the takedown of maleficent characters who prey on vulnerable women in the workplace,” she wrote.
From The Guardian • Oct. 16, 2019
But Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” beats them all: a maleficent house, real human protagonists, everything half-seen or happening in the dark.
From New York Times • Jul. 16, 2018
The actor, more often cast as likable and light, makes fairy-tale Flynn maleficent.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2014
For though Famine had not yet begun to gnaw the vitals of those immured in Gueldersdorp, Disease had here and there sprung into active, threatening, infectious being, menacing the crowded community with invisible, maleficent forces.
From The Dop Doctor by Dehan, Richard
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.
