malignancy
Americannoun
plural
malignancies-
the quality or condition of being malignant.
-
malignant character, behavior, action, or the like.
the malignancies of war.
-
a malignant tumor.
noun
-
the state or quality of being malignant
-
pathol a cancerous growth
Other Word Forms
- nonmalignance noun
- nonmalignancy noun
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.
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
Nothing in these stories, translated by Megan McDowell, is quite impossible, yet the shadow of numinous malignancy hangs over everything.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025
Not because cancer had been ruled out — it’s possible that the tests might have missed a subtle malignancy, still brewing.
From Salon • May 20, 2025
"Silencing of the SIX2 gene, on the other hand, significantly reduced the malignancy of cancer cells that are resistant to hormonal therapies," Doctoral Researcher Noora Leppänen of the University of Eastern Finland notes.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2024
He hit it without hope but with resolution and complete malignancy.
From "The Old Man and The Sea" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
