malicious
English · Thesaurus
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malicious
- /məˈlɪʃəs/
Sounds like militias
Where it comes from
From Middle English malicious, from Old French malicios, from Latin malitiōsus, from malitia (“malice”), from malus (“bad”). Displaced native Middle English ivelwilled and ivelwilly (“malicious”), related to Old English yfelwillende (literally “evil-willing”). By surface analysis, malice + -ious.
adjective more malicious · most malicious · malitious
-
Intending to do harm; characterized by spite and malice.
He was sent off for a malicious tackle on Jones.
Similar: evil, maleficent, malevolent, abandoned, arrant, bad, bad apple, bad seed, baleful, scurrilous, baneful, base
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: malevolent, spiteful, despiteful, vicious, catty, bitchy, leering, vindictive, vixenish, beady-eyed, venomous, venomed, cattish, poisonous, malevolence, ill-intentioned
Translations
Every language
adj of, pertaining to, or as a result of malice or spite
| Español | maligno |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 悪意のある akui no aru |
| 中文 | 惡意的 /恶意的 èyì de, 惡毒的 /恶毒的 èdú de, 懷恨的 /怀恨的 huáihèn de, 心懷叵測的 /心怀叵测的 xīnhuáipǒcè de, 蓄意的 xùyì de |
| Português | malicioso, maldoso |
| Français | malveillant |
| Deutsch | böse, boshaft, maliziös, böswillig, bösartig |
| Italiano | doloso, cattivo, malizioso, malevole |
| Ελληνικά | κακόβουλος kakóvoulos, κακεντρεχής kakentrechís, μοχθηρός mochthirós, κακοήθης kakoḯthis |
| Română | malițios, răutăcios |
| Русский | злой zloj, зло́бный zlóbnyj, зло́стный zlóstnyj |
adj deliberately harmful; spiteful
| 中文 | 惡意的 /恶意的 èyì de, 惡毒的 /恶毒的 èdú de, 懷恨的 /怀恨的 huáihèn de, 心懷叵測的 /心怀叵测的 xīnhuáipǒcè de, 蓄意的 xùyì de |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | द्वेषी dveṣī |
| Français | mauvais |
| Ελληνικά | μοχθηρός mochthirós |
| Русский | злоумы́шленный zloumýšlennyj, злонаме́ренный zlonamérennyj |
Talk about this word "malicious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/malicious. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. malicious. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/malicious "malicious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/malicious.Cite this
@misc{malicious_2026,
title = {malicious},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/malicious},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
