malignancy
Americannoun
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the quality or condition of being malignant.
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malignant character, behavior, action, or the like.
the malignancies of war.
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a malignant tumor.
noun
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the state or quality of being malignant
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pathol a cancerous growth
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of malignancy
First recorded in 1595–1605; malign(ant) + -ancy
Vocabulary lists containing malignancy
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:
Unknown to her, the malignancy metastasized during her pregnancy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Mary’s presence is a malignancy, a blight on the name that Sam has worked so hard to build, an identity that’s separate from Mary’s and secure in its solitude.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026
But he sure makes the strongest case for being the most malevolent, influential force there, a malignancy that poisons everything he touches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026
By the time the lecture was over, he knew that he would drop all of his ongoing projects to find the cause of the unusual malignancy.
From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
The normal cells, suffering respiratory damage for the first time, are not killed but are set on the path that may eventually lead to malignancy.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Dr. Shannon MacDonald, a Massachusetts radiation oncologist and Harvard professor who treats rare pediatric malignancies, sees patients from across the country.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
"Selectively targeting SAS1B has the potential to have broad and profound impact on the treatment, and therefore reduction in mortality, of multiple malignancies," Slingluff and his colleagues write in their new paper.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2024
In women aged 40 to 49 the most common malignancies were breast, melanoma, and colorectal cancers.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2024
Prescribers are warned about an increased risk of infection or malignancies that are associated with JAK inhibitors.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2024
The first recognition of malignancies traceable to the age of industry came during the last quarter of the 19th century.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
