malicious
adjective
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Malicious, Malevolent, and Malice
Malicious and malevolent are close in meaning, since both refer to ill will that desires to see someone else suffer. But while malevolent suggests deep and lasting dislike, malicious usually means petty and spiteful. Malicious gossipers are often simply envious of a neighbor's good fortune. Vandals may take malicious pleasure in destroying and defacing property but usually don't truly hate the owners. Malice is an important legal concept, which has to be proved in order to convict someone of certain crimes such as first-degree murder.
Synonyms
Examples of malicious in a Sentence
Joyce Carol Oates, New York Times Book Review, 5 Nov. 2000
A cunning and malicious crook who suckered him without half trying.
—Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
Frank sensed her discomfort and took a certain malicious pleasure in it, enacting all the while his perfect innocence.
—John Updike, The Afterlife, 1994
a malicious distortion of the truth
the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip
Davey Winder, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
The complaint alleges malicious prosecution and defamation during the manslaughter case and also accuses the defendants of intentionally mishandling evidence in the case, which stemmed from the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film Rust.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 10 Jan. 2025
Alec Baldwin sues New Mexico, claiming malicious prosecution.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Cybercriminals then used these services and resold access to other malicious actors with detailed instructions on how to use these custom tools to generate harmful and illicit content.
—Ars Technica, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for malicious 
Dictionary Entries Near malicious
Cite this Entry
“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malicious. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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malicious
adjective
Legal Definition
malicious
adjective
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