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Showing results for maleficent. Search instead for maleficient.
Synonyms

maleficent

American  
[muh-lef-uh-suhnt] / məˈlɛf ə sənt /

adjective

  1. doing evil or harm; harmfully malicious.

    maleficent destroyers of reputations.


maleficent British  
/ məˈlɛfɪsənt /

adjective

  1. causing or capable of producing evil or mischief; harmful or baleful

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • malefic adjective
  • maleficence noun

Etymology

Origin of maleficent

1670–80; back formation from Latin maleficentia maleficence; -ent

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

The actor, more often cast as likable and light, makes fairy-tale Flynn maleficent.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2014

He’s the life coach to an almost certainly maleficent Big Data C.E.O.

From New York Times • Aug. 5, 2014

Hiddleston, known to Marvel fans as the brooding, maleficent Loki in the Thor and Avengers movies, stepped into the Adam role when Michael Fassbender stepped out.

From Time • Apr. 9, 2014

The ministry of death is not maleficent; says the Cabbala, "The Lord said unto the Angel of Death, Behold I have made thee cosmocrator."

From The Color Line A Brief in Behalf of the Unborn by Smith, William Benjamin