Dictionary

malice en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈmælɪs/
• măl'ĭs

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (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.
   • without the slightest flutter of malice in her round face. 2015, Catherynne M. Valente, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, Feiwel & Friends, page 215:
   • […] not only was there no gratitude (which he could psychologically handle) but downright malice showed itself instead. 1981, Philip K. Dick, Valis, →ISBN, page 67:
2. (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. 2023 April 18, Sam Levine, Kira Lerner, “Fox and Dominion settle for US$787.5m in defamation lawsuit over election lies”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Forms

Deriveds

malice prepense · constructive malice · malice in fact · malice in law · maliceless · malice aforethought · mute of malice · malice murder · maliceful · actual malice · malicious

Relateds

malady

Synonyms

ill will · wickedness · evil

Translations (92)

sh зло̀ћа (intention to harm) · pt malignidade (intention to harm) · sh zlòća (intention to harm) · pt maldade (intention to harm) · is illgirni (intention to harm) · ca malícia (intention to harm) · pdt Groll (intention to harm) · nl kwaadaardigheid (intention to harm) · it cattiveria (intention to harm) · hy նենգ (intention to harm) · pl pakość (intention to harm) · de Boshaftigkeit (intention to harm) · sh па̏ко̄ст (intention to harm) · hi कुनह (intention to harm) · mi mauāhara (intention to harm) · ru злость (intention to harm) · pl złośliwość (intention to harm) · mk пакост (intention to harm) · sh зло̀ба (intention to harm) · fi ilkeys (intention to harm) · de Bosheit (intention to harm) · it malizia (intention to harm) · ja 悪意 (intention to harm) · cmn 惡意 /恶意 (intention to harm) · ru зло́ба (intention to harm) · hi खोट (intention to harm) · el εμπάθεια (intention to harm) · mi kaikino (intention to harm) · sh злу̀рад (intention to harm) · hi दुर्भावना (intention to harm) · it malignità (intention to harm) · ang yfelwillendnes (intention to harm) · bg злонамереност (intention to harm) · hi कुभावना (intention to harm) · fi pahantahtoisuus (intention to harm) · de Bösartigkeit (intention to harm) · ro maliție (intention to harm) · ar حِقْد (intention to harm) · eo malico (intention to harm) · sh zlonámērnōst (intention to harm) · got 𐌽𐌴𐌹𐌸 (intention to harm) · mk злоба (intention to harm) · tr kötü niyet (intention to harm) · cs zlomyslnost (intention to harm) · hu rosszindulat (intention to harm) · sh pȁkōst (intention to harm) · gl malicia (intention to harm) · nn vondskap (intention to harm) · es malicia (intention to harm) · hi कपट (intention to harm) · fo illskapur (intention to harm) · pt malícia (intention to harm) · sh zlòba (intention to harm) · la malitia (intention to harm) · acw حِقد (intention to harm) · sh zlùrad (intention to harm) · ja 毒気 (intention to harm) · iso ịgrẹ (intention to harm) · az qərəz (intention to harm) · hi डाह (intention to harm) · sv illvilja (intention to harm) · hi कुभाव (intention to harm) · th ความมุ่งร้าย (intention to harm) · ro malițiozitate (intention to harm) · fr malice (intention to harm) · tr art niyet (intention to harm) · th เจตนาร้าย (intention to harm) · hu malícia (intention to harm) · mk злонамера (intention to harm) · nn argskap (intention to harm) · hi विद्वेष (intention to harm) · ru злой у́мысел (intention to harm) · hu rosszakarat (intention to harm) · sh màlīcija (intention to harm) · fr malveillance (intention to harm) · de Böse (intention to harm) · pl złoba (intention to harm) · hi दुर्भाव (intention to harm) · txb mantālo (intention to harm) · sh злона́ме̄рно̄ст (intention to harm) · hy քեն (intention to harm) · fr méchanceté (intention to harm) · ml ദുഷ്ടത (intention to harm) · fo óndskapur (intention to harm) · hi कीना (intention to harm) · el κακεντρέχεια (intention to harm) · el κακία (intention to harm) · ru зло (intention to harm) · fo óreinskapur (intention to harm) · is meinfýsni (intention to harm) · sh ма̀лӣција (intention to harm) · pl zła wola (intention to harm)

malice en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈmælɪs/
• măl'ĭs

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. To intend to cause harm; to bear malice.
   • I am so far from malicing their states, / That I begin to pity 'em. 1599, Ben Jonson, Every Man out of His Humour, act 5, scene 2:
   • Here's a list of side effects / Practice tested / Covering every maliced angle / For example: / You will sleep forever / You will never sleep again 1995, Fugazi, “Fell, Destroyed”, in Red Medicine, performed by Guy Picciotto:
   • I haven't maliced anybody, definitely not. I never used to have friends like that. I had a few who I thought were friends. Even if you have friends, things happen and friendship break up, but you move on. But I still talk to everybody. 2018 May 14, Kimberley Small, quoting Marion Hall, “Dancehall was contentious, says Marion Hall”, in The Jamaica Star:
   • Thou blinded God (quod I) forgive me this offence, / Unwittingly I went about, to malice thy pretence. 1557, Henry Howard, “Complaint of a lover that defied Love and was by Love after the more tormented”, in Songes and Sonettes:
   • Robert Truswell may have been a belligerent and malicing man, a jury heard this morning during the trial of George Kieran Daunt. 2005 May 3, “'He was a mess,' woman says of accused”, in The Whitehorse Star:
   • A feeble spirited king that governed, / Who ill could guide the sceptre he did use; / His enemies, that his worth maliced, / Who both the land and him did much abuse: / The peoples love; and his apparent right, May seem sufficient motives to incite. 1609, Samuel Daniel, The History of the Civil Wars, book 5, verse 48:
   • His paines, his pouertie, his ſharpe aſſayes, / Through which he paſt his miſerable dayes, / Offending none, and doing good to all, / Yet being maliſt both of great and ſmall. 1596, Edm[und] Spenser, “An Hymne of Heavenly Love”, in Fowre Hymnes, London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, page 32:
   • Who on the other ſide did ſeeme ſo farre / From malicing, or grudging his good houre, / That, all he could, he graced him with her, / Ne euer ſhewed ſigne of rancour or of iarre. 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, page 477:

Forms

Synonyms

grudge · spite · envy