malinger

American  

[muh-ling-ger] / məˈlɪŋ gər /

verb (used without object)

1. to pretend illness, especially in order to shirk one's duty, avoid work, etc.

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malinger British  

/ məˈlɪŋɡə /

verb

1. (intr) to pretend or exaggerate illness, esp to avoid work

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Other Word Forms

• malingerer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of malinger

First recorded in 1810–20; from French malingre “sickly, ailing,” equivalent to mal- “bad, ill” + Old French heingre “haggard” (perhaps from Germanic ); see mal-

Explanation

When you malinger, you pretend to be sick. If you ever claimed to have a stomach ache in order to stay home from school, you know what it means to malinger. The word malinger comes from the French malingre, which can mean "ailing or sickly," but its exact origin is uncertain. One theory says that mal, or "wrongly," suggests the sick person is just faking. Lying about a stomach ache, holding the thermometer near a light bulb, refusing to get out of bed, moaning — these are classic tactics of those who malinger, or pretend to be too sick to do anything but lie around the house.

Example Sentences

In other cases, prisoners malinger to try to get themselves out of solitary confinement, or a transfer into a quieter mental health-centered unit.

From Slate • Feb. 22, 2022

She looked up malinger and read the definition: “To pretend to be ill in order to escape duty or work.’

From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech

There isn't a sick man on board except one I've persuaded to malinger to keep me out of mischief.

From A Tall Ship On Other Naval Occasions by Bartimeus

But, within limits, they may loaf and malinger, and, as scabs, are exceeded by the machine, which never loafs and malingers and which is the ideally perfect scab.

From War of the Classes by London, Jack

One, of course, can readily see with what facility an individual of the type under discussion could malinger mental symptoms.

From Studies in Forensic Psychiatry by Glueck, Bernard