malign
Americanverb (used with object)
-
maligns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
maligned,
past participle, past
-
maligning
present participle
adjective
-
evil in effect; pernicious; baleful; injurious.
The gloomy house had a malign influence upon her usually good mood.
- Synonyms:
- baneful
-
having or showing an evil disposition; malevolent; malicious.
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
malignsimple
-
malignssimple
-
have malignedperfect
-
has malignedperfect
-
am maligningprogressive
-
are maligningprogressive
-
is maligningprogressive
-
have been maligningperfect progressive
-
has been maligningperfect progressive
Past
-
malignedsimple
-
had malignedperfect
-
was maligningprogressive
-
were maligningprogressive
-
had been maligningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of malign
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English maligne, from Middle French, from Latin malignus; see mal-, benign
Explanation
If you malign someone, you badmouth them — just like the jilted girlfriend who tells the whole school her ex has bad breath and head lice. When you habitually malign people, you risk being described as "a malign influence" — in this case, malign is an adjective that describes a harmful or even evil person or thing. Whichever way you use the word, its connection to wickedness can be found in its Latin root, malignus, "wicked or bad-natured," which combines male, or "badly" and -gnus, "born."
Vocabulary lists containing malign
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Yet that’s also how Malone feels about the current climate of Hollywood — a once-stable neighborhood fending off malign forces.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
He added that measures "to deal with malign state actors" were also needed.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Schumer in his statement, noted that “Iran’s malign regional activities, nuclear ambitions, and harsh oppression of the Iranian people demands American strength, resolve, regional coordination, and strategic clarity.”
From Slate ● Mar. 4, 2026
They expect us to “consider the source of their ideas, or the cultural influences upon them, which are often malign and give them perverse incentives to acquire the ‘mind-forg’d manacles’ with which they live.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
And another: “Malcolm X is one of our most significant and miltant leaders. We are in a battle. Efforts will be made to malign and discredit him. ...”
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Much like the recent reclaiming of the bimbo as empowering and gossip as an act of feminist resistance, her L.A. hot girl TikToks remove guilt from the pleasure of feminine hobbies that patriarchy maligns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2023
But the movement has been getting pushback from some Hindu Americans who argue that such legislation maligns a specific community.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 21, 2023
The girls' family has also questioned the police's version, saying it maligns their daughters.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2022
These groups contend the scandal maligns the priesthood and harms the faith.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 28, 2019
The criminal is often enough not equal to his deed: he extenuates and maligns it.
From Beyond Good and Evil by Helen Zimmern
For nearly 40 years as an attorney, he used that presence to fight for the maligned like few others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Once maligned for taking on debt to fuel costly media acquisitions, AT&T has since sold off those units and refocused on core telecommunications activities.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 7, 2026
Richly talented but much maligned, England captain Harry Brook finally achieved redemption at Pallekele stadium in Kandy after a torrid few months -- and came of age as a leader.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
Often maligned for her lack of goals compared with fellow forward Blackstenius, Russo's all-round play is what makes her a key component in Slegers' system.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2025
The regent was acting in accordance with Thembu law and custom, and his own motives could not be maligned: he wanted us to be settled during his lifetime.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
CompassCare has responded by furiously maligning Kamke in public, an unusual way to treat a former patient.
From Slate ● May 28, 2024
Schultz and Gershman expect that, should Carroll proceed with another complaint and trial, Trump will receive much steeper punitive damages than previously adjudged as the court attempts to further deter him from maligning her.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2024
It was put in place by the trial judge in October to stop Mr. Trump from maligning or threatening prosecutors, potential witnesses or court employees involved in the case.
From New York Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
The 50-year-old journalist was living in Kenya to avoid arrest at home on charges of maligning the powerful military.
From Washington Times ● May 25, 2023
It was manifest that she had been maligning Rachel, and instigating his mother to take up the cudgels against her.
From Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
