malevolent
[ muh-lev-uh-luh nt ]
/ məˈlɛv ə lənt /
adjective
wishing evil or harm to another or others; showing ill will; ill-disposed; malicious: His failures made him malevolent toward those who were successful.
evil; harmful; injurious: a malevolent inclination to destroy the happiness of others.
Astrology. evil or malign in influence.
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RELATED WORDS
vengeful, malicious, murderous, sinister, vicious, malignant, wicked, baleful, catty, dirty, evil, evil-minded, hellish, hostile, lousy, malign, murder, pernicious, poison, rough
Nearby words
- malenkov,
- malentendu,
- maleruption,
- malevich,
- malevolence,
- malevolently,
- malfeasance,
- malformation,
- malformed,
- malfunction
Origin of malevolent
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for malevolent
malevolent
/ (məˈlɛvələnt) /
adjective
wishing or appearing to wish evil to others; malicious
astrology having an evil influence
Word Origin for malevolent
C16: from Latin malevolens, from male ill + volens, present participle of velle to wish
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
malevolent
c.1500, from Middle French malivolent and directly from Latin malevolentem (nominative malevolens) "ill-disposed, spiteful, envious," from male "badly" (see mal-) + volentem (nominative volens), present participle of velle "to wish" (see will (v.)). Related: Malevolently.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper