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malicious

[muh-lish-uh s]
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adjective
  1. full of, characterized by, or showing malice; intentionally harmful; spiteful: malicious gossip.
  2. Law. vicious, wanton, or mischievous in motivation or purpose.
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Origin of malicious

1175–1225; Middle English malicius < Old French < Latin malitiōsus. See malice, -ous
Related formsma·li·cious·ly, adverbma·li·cious·ness, nounnon·ma·li·cious, adjectivenon·ma·li·cious·ly, adverbnon·ma·li·cious·ness, nounsem·i·ma·li·cious, adjectivesem·i·ma·li·cious·ly, adverbsem·i·ma·li·cious·ness, nounun·ma·li·cious, adjectiveun·ma·li·cious·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for maliciousness

malicious

adjective
  1. characterized by malice
  2. motivated by wrongful, vicious, or mischievous purposes
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Derived Formsmaliciously, adverbmaliciousness, noun
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 maliciousness

n.

mid-15c., from malicious + -ness.

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malicious

adj.

early 13c., from Old French malicios "showing ill will, spiteful, wicked" (Modern French malicieux), from Latin malitiosus "wicked, malicious," from malitia "badness, ill will, spite," from malus "bad" (see mal-). In legal use (early 14c., Anglo-French), it means "characterized by malice prepense."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper