as in to lazy
to pretend to be sick or injured in order to avoid doing work
Because of his frequent absences, his boss suspected he was malingering.
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Recent Examples of malinger
The entire day felt dehumanizing, as if her nearly eight years with the company, her medical problems and her physical pain had been reduced to nothing more than malingering and scattered incidents of tardiness.
—
Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 2023
Goldstein, who did not return a message seeking comment, practices in Chicago and has lectured on the topic of malingering, according to a resume posted online.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
But when workers take advantage of the manager’s kindly nature to malinger or disrupt operations, the entire business is threatened.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2022
The decision against Robert Krebs came after a psychologist determined Krebs didn’t have a mental illness or cognitive impairment and was instead malingering to avoid prosecution for the robbery last year in Tucson.
—Jacques Billeaud, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2019
On Monday, prosecutor Stuart Silberg said Ms. Ortega could have been malingering, or faking her psychiatric state.
—Corinne Ramey, WSJ, 31 July 2017
The question is obviously especially consequential when deeming a person malingering means they could be put to death.
—James Hamblin, The Atlantic, 5 May 2017
Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 2023
Goldstein, who did not return a message seeking comment, practices in Chicago and has lectured on the topic of malingering, according to a resume posted online.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
But when workers take advantage of the manager’s kindly nature to malinger or disrupt operations, the entire business is threatened.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2022
The decision against Robert Krebs came after a psychologist determined Krebs didn’t have a mental illness or cognitive impairment and was instead malingering to avoid prosecution for the robbery last year in Tucson.
—Jacques Billeaud, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2019
On Monday, prosecutor Stuart Silberg said Ms. Ortega could have been malingering, or faking her psychiatric state.
—Corinne Ramey, WSJ, 31 July 2017
The question is obviously especially consequential when deeming a person malingering means they could be put to death.
—James Hamblin, The Atlantic, 5 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malinger
Verb
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Cleveland-Cliffs — The steel producer declined 1.2% after a report from the Minnesota Star Tribune said Cleveland-Cliffs would temporarily idle two factories, resulting in hundreds of job cuts.—
Hakyung Kim,
CNBC,
21 Mar. 2025
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In court papers, top CFPB officials have said the agency remains committed to meeting its obligations under the law, rejecting arguments that by idling the majority of the agency's staff and canceling the bulk of its contracts, the Trump administration is violating the law.—
Douglas Gillison and Daniel Wiessner,
USA TODAY,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Fans were still bummed that he was reassigned to minor-league camp.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
17 Mar. 2025
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For more on Nintendo Switch 2, check out our Switch 2 game wishlist and learn why we’ll be bummed if Switch 2 lacks these features.—
Jordan Minor,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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That attempt was soon fooled by sloppy play in the neutral zone that gave Brad Marchand a short-handed opportunity.—
Nick Ashbourne,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
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Then, as if anyone was fooled, the talk show host pulled off his hat, wig and snap-on nose and lip piercings and Sheeran pulled of his wig to reveal his signature carrot top to shouts of joy.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Trade professionals and home improvement DIYers often buy heavy-duty handheld vacuums to clean job site messes like sawdust, drywall dust or wood shavings.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
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That messed me up, that messed my friends up, messed my whole family up.—
Benjamin Royer,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malinger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malinger. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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