malice

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malice

/ˈmælɪs/

Rhymes with -ælɪs

Where it comes from

From Middle English malice, borrowed from Old French malice, from Latin malitia (“badness, bad quality, ill-will, spite”), from malus (“bad”).

noun malices

uncountable, usually Intention to harm or deprive in an illegal or immoral way. Desire to take pleasure in another's misfortune. Your voice positively drips malice.
Similar: evil, ill will, wickedness
uncountable, usually An intention to do injury to another party, which in many jurisdictions is a distinguishing factor between the crimes of murder and manslaughter. The question that would have been before the jury was whether Fox committed “actual malice” in airing the claims. That required Dominion to show whether key decision makers were aware the claims were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.

verb malices · malicing · maliced

To intend to cause harm; to bear malice. Thou blinded God (quod I) forgive me this offence, / Unwittingly I went about, to malice thy pretence.
Similar: envy, grudge, spite

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: maliciousness, spite, malevolency, malevolence, spitefulness, venom, evil, wickedness, hate, hatred, grudge, sin, viciousness, resentment, wrongdoing, envy

Translations

Every language

noun intention to harm

Español	malicia
日本語	悪意 akui, 毒気 dokuke, dokke
中文	惡意 /恶意 èyì
हिन्दी	दुर्भाव durbhāv, दुर्भावना durbhāvnā, विद्वेष vidveṣ, कुभाव kubhāv, कुभावना kubhāvnā, कीना kīnā
Português	malícia, malignidade, maldade
Français	malveillance, méchanceté, malice
Deutsch	Boshaftigkeit, Böse, Bosheit, Bösartigkeit
Italiano	malizia, malignità, cattiveria
Ελληνικά	εμπάθεια empátheia, κακεντρέχεια kakentrécheia, κακία kakía
Română	maliție, malițiozitate
Русский	злой у́мысел zloj úmysel, зло́ба zlóba, злость zlostʹ, зло zlo
العربية	حِقْد ḥiqd

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MLA

"malice." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/malice. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

malice. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/malice

Chicago

"malice." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/malice.

BibTeX

@misc{malice_2026,
  title = {malice},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/malice},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}