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:
“The system is operating in this state of malign neglect and carelessness that has a real impact on people’s financial lives,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
"My Administration has guarded against the risks posed by malign foreign actors who attempt to swindle American citizens by taking advantage of the generosity of our Nation," the first executive order says.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
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
After the patrols got under way, there weren’t any suspected malign incidents for about a year, Abrahamson said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
“I see. Now I am being compared to a degenerate old female fraud. Worse, I am losing in the comparison. My own mother daring to malign me so.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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
If a media organization knowingly and falsely maligns a public figure, the fact that it reported nice and true things elsewhere is no defense.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 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
If he maligns me, slanders and lies about me, that is here—here at St. Ignace, and not at the theatre.
From Ringfield A Novel by S. Frances (Susie Frances) Harrison
Oral estrogens have been unfairly maligned, while transdermal patches have been deemed a safer option.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
Others think the floods were far worse than any recent precedent, and that the Eastlands have been unfairly maligned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
McKellen has made dozens of films since, from superhero blockbusters to character-driven indies like “Six Degrees of Separation” and musicals such as “Beauty and the Beast” and even the maligned “Cats.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 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
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
Sheinbaum regularly bemoans what she views as “fake news” maligning her leadership.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
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
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 is greatly to the credit of the English chronicler that he was able to deal so fairly with the character of one whom he had not a few patriotic reasons for maligning.
From A Source Book of Medi?val History Documents Illustrative of European Life and Institutions from the German Invasions to the Renaissance by Frederic Austin Ogg
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
