malevolent

[muh-lev-uh-luh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR malevolent ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of malevolent

1500–10; < Latin malevolent- (stem of malevolēns) ill-disposed, spiteful, equivalent to male- male- + volent- (stem of volēns), present participle of velle to want, wish for, desire (see will¹, -ent)

Related formsma·lev·o·lent·ly, adverbun·ma·lev·o·lent, adjectiveun·ma·lev·o·lent·ly, adverb

Can be confusedmaleficent malevolent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for malevolent

vengeful, malicious, murderous, sinister, vicious, malignant, wicked, baleful, catty, dirty, evil, evil-minded, hellish, hostile, lousy, malign, murder, pernicious, poison, rough

Examples from the Web for malevolent

Contemporary Examples of malevolent

We see it when any elite is able to get away with a malevolent act because elites protect each other.
The Real Legacy of Richard Nixon
Scott Porch
August 5, 2014
But when the specious claims are directed at the parents of autistic children, the situation has gone from silly to malevolent.
FDA Moves to Crack Down on Quack Autism ‘Cures’
Russell Saunders
April 29, 2014
Instead, it makes me appear capricious, malevolent and cruel.
Pediatrician: Don’t Make Me the Bad Guy By Teasing Your Kid About Shots
Russell Saunders
February 4, 2014
The only malevolent presence in the house that night was a gang of snickering boys and one put-upon girlfriend.
A Night with The Conjuring’s Ed & Lorraine Warren
Stefan Beck
August 18, 2013
As an African-American, I have experienced racism in all its malevolent forms.
Christopher Darden Believes There May Be Justice Yet for Trayvon
Christopher A. Darden, Michele Noble
July 15, 2013

Historical Examples of malevolent

But, evading him, she towered, lean and malevolent as a fury.
Bardelys the Magnificent
Rafael Sabatini
What malevolent ingenuity ever selected the precise path that led to ruin?
Luttrell Of Arran
Charles James Lever
Malevolent old fool, that will not see how needless it is to ruin me.
Sir Brook Fossbrooke, Volume II.
Charles James Lever
It is as if his heart were corrupted by a malevolent and brooding rancour.
The Mirror of the Sea
Joseph Conrad
Something in his blood raged at the sight of the malevolent face.
Nan of Music Mountain
Frank H. Spearman

British Dictionary definitions for malevolent

malevolent

adjective

wishing or appearing to wish evil to others; malicious

astrology having an evil influence

Derived Formsmalevolence, nounmalevolently, adverb

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

Word Origin and History for malevolent

adj.

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.