malfeasant

American  

[mal-fee-zuhnt] / mælˈfi zənt /

noun

1. a person who engages in an act that is illegal, legally unjustified, or harmful, especially a public official or person in a position of public trust.

   We will not restore the people’s confidence with bland assurances that the malfeasants are mere outliers who will be punished.

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adjective

1. (especially of a public official or person in a position of public trust) engaging in an act that is illegal, legally unjustified, or harmful.

   This government zealously pursues malfeasant civil servants and prosecutes them.

Etymology

Origin of malfeasant

First recorded in 1830–40; malfeas(ance) ( def. ) + -ant ( def. )

Example Sentences

He called on the TEA to expand its investigation and he demanded that members of the school board investigate "themselves for their own malfeasant actions."

From Fox News • Feb. 28, 2022

The 2010 complaint concerned a colleague, the director of our clinical pathology laboratory and one of our most distinguished African American scientists, who was being subjected to malfeasant actions by the university.

From Washington Post • Oct. 11, 2019

In this case the malfeasant was film critic David Edelstein, who made a stupid, quickly deleted, misfired “joke” on his private Facebook page, regarding the death of Last Tango in Paris director Bernardo Bertolucci.

From The Guardian • Dec. 22, 2018

Rude behavior such as eye-rolling, sighing, and the like are not outrageous because they do not incorporate the elements of malfeasant inaccuracy and intent to diminish that characterize outrage.

From Salon • Dec. 7, 2013

That stained gown is the pretext for getting our three malfeasant heroines out of their hotel suites and into the streets of New York for a farcical race against the clock.

From Slate • Sep. 14, 2012