malice
[ mal-is ]
/ ˈmæl ɪs /
noun
desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness: the malice and spite of a lifelong enemy.
Law. evil intent on the part of a person who commits a wrongful act injurious to others.
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RELATED WORDS
grudge, enmity, hostility, bitterness, resentment, animus, meanness, antipathy, animosity, rancor, hatred, mordacity, umbrage, spite, malevolence, venom, poison, maliciousness, acerbity, dislike
Nearby words
- mali empire,
- malibran,
- malibu board,
- malic,
- malic acid,
- malice aforethought,
- malicious,
- malicious mischief,
- maliciously,
- maliciousness
Origin of malice
SYNONYMS FOR malice
1. ill will, spite, spitefulness; animosity, enmity; malevolence; venom, hate, hatred; bitterness, rancor. See grudge.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for malice
malice
/ (ˈmælɪs) /
noun
the desire to do harm or mischief
evil intent
law the state of mind with which an act is committed and from which the intent to do wrong may be inferredSee also malice aforethought
Word Origin for malice
C13: via Old French from Latin malitia, from malus evil
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
malice
c.1300, "desire to hurt another," from Old French malice "ill will, spite, sinfulness, wickedness" (12c.), from Latin malitia "badness, ill will, spite," from malus "bad" (see mal-). In legal use, "wrongful intent generally" (1540s).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper