malign

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of malign

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English maligne, from Middle French, from Latin malignus; see mal-, benign

OTHER WORDS FROM malign

ma·lign·er, nounma·lign·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use malign in a sentence

It phased out a much-maligned system called E-Tran that repeatedly crashed last year, one lender said.
Third round of PPP lending tops $35 billion as SBA irons out glitches|Aaron Gregg|January 26, 2021|Washington Post
The precise target of the invaders remained unclear, but their intentions were surely malign.
In 1814, British forces burned the U.S. Capitol|Joel Achenbach|January 6, 2021|Washington Post
Far from being upended by the coronavirus pandemic, the much-maligned section of the ad industry is in rude health thanks in large part to a surge in online advertising.
As ad tech surges, challenges remain — and not just from the coronavirus pandemic|Seb Joseph|January 5, 2021|Digiday
Rechnitz, 49, said the chain’s financial and patient-care practices are sound and the homes have been unfairly maligned by some state officials, journalists and others.
Profit and pain: How California’s largest nursing home chain amassed millions as scrutiny mounted|Debbie Cenziper, Joel Jacobs, Alice Crites, Will Englund|December 31, 2020|Washington Post

A Tea Party rally outside the Capitol Thursday captured the defiant mood with the far right maligning the merely right.
The GOP’s Kamikazes Are Back|Eleanor Clift|June 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I had no intention of maligning the gentleman, and the evident astonishment my question causes you is very reassuring.
The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence|Eugne Sue
Whether I shall proceed in law against these scoundrels for maligning me, I have not determined.
Sevenoaks|J. G. Holland
Why, the Dunces had been maligning him all their days, long before the treatise on the Profund.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 358, August 1845|Various
Writers uniformly take a wicked pleasure in maligning the Basque language.
A Midsummer Drive Through The Pyrenees|Edwin Asa Dix
It was manifest that she had been maligning Rachel, and instigating his mother to take up the cudgels against her.
Rachel Ray|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for malign

malign

/ (məˈlaɪn) /

adjective

evil in influence, intention, or effect

verb

(tr) to slander or defame

Derived forms of malign

maligner, nounmalignly, adverb

Word Origin for malign

C14: via Old French from Latin malīgnus spiteful, from malus evil

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

malign

OTHER WORDS FOR malign

OPPOSITES FOR malign

Origin of malign

OTHER WORDS FROM malign

Words related to malign

How to use malign in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for malign

Derived forms of malign

Word Origin for malign