malign
Americanverb (used with object)
adjective
-
evil in effect; pernicious; baleful; injurious.
The gloomy house had a malign influence upon her usually good mood.
- Synonyms:
- baneful
-
having or showing an evil disposition; malevolent; malicious.
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
- maligner noun
- malignly adverb
Etymology
Origin of malign
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English maligne, from Middle French, from Latin malignus; mal-, benign
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.
Richly talented but much maligned, England captain Harry Brook finally achieved redemption at Pallekele stadium in Kandy after a torrid few months -- and came of age as a leader.
From Barron's
They expect us to “consider the source of their ideas, or the cultural influences upon them, which are often malign and give them perverse incentives to acquire the ‘mind-forg’d manacles’ with which they live.”
"We are not faulting the social media companies for failure to remove malign content from their platforms," Bergman told AFP.
From Barron's
Dictators, autocrats and other malign actors strategically use humor as a type of diminutive to minimize their real intent and to distract the public and media.
From Salon
"As a teenager himself when he committed the offence, he was vulnerable to the malign influences that pray on our young people in today's online world," he added.
From BBC
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.
