malign

English

Etymology

From Middle English maligne, from Old French maligne, from Latin malignus, from malus (“bad”) + genus (“sort, kind”). Compare benign.

Pronunciation

• enPR: mə-līn', IPA^(key): /məˈlaɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪn

Adjective

malign (comparative more malign, superlative most malign)

1. Evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.
   • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:

     Witchcraft may be by operation of malign spirits.

   • 1951 February, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 119:

     It may be true that such running is exceptional rather than normal; there are still innumerable checks of one kind or another, many of them, alas, directly or indirectly the result of engine failures; and bad coal has often a malign influence.

2. Malevolent.
   • 1891, Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge:

     He was sure they [the stars] were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign significance.

3. (oncology) Malignant.

   a malign ulcer

   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Seditions and Troubles”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

     malign ulcers

Antonyms

• benign

Derived terms

• malignancy
• maligner
• malignify
• malignly
• malignment
• unmalign

Related terms

• malignant

Translations

evil or malignant — see also malignant

• Bulgarian: лош (bg) (loš), зъл (bg) (zăl)
• Czech: špatný (cs), škodlivý (cs), neblahý
• Finnish: paha (fi)
• German: böse (de), böswillig (de), übel (de), schlimm (de), schlecht (de)
• Greek: κακοήθης (el) (kakoḯthis)
• Latin: malignus
• Middle English: maligne
• Portuguese: maligno (pt) m
• Romanian: malign (ro)

malevolent — see also malevolent

• Bulgarian: зловреден (bg) (zlovreden)
• Finnish: pahantahtoinen (fi)
• German: böse (de), bösartig (de), böswillig (de), arglistig (de), grausam (de), übelwollend (de), schädlich (de), unheilvoll (de), verderblich (de), niederträchtig (de), heimtückisch (de)
• Greek: κακόβουλος (el) (kakóvoulos)
• Latin: malignus
• Middle English: maligne

oncology: malignant

• Bulgarian: злокачествен (bg) (zlokačestven)
• Czech: maligní (cs), zhoubný (cs)
• Finnish: pahanlaatuinen (fi)
• German: maligne (de), bösartig (de)
• Middle English: maligne
• Romanian: malign (ro)
• Slovak: zhubný (sk)
• Ukrainian: злоякісний (zlojakisnyj)

Verb

malign (third-person singular simple present maligns, present participle maligning, simple past and past participle maligned)

1. (transitive) To make defamatory statements about; to slander or traduce.

   Synonyms: asperse, denigrate, libel; see also Thesaurus:defame

   • 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:

     To be envied and shot at; to be maligned standing, and to be despised falling.

   • 2018 November 18, Phil McNulty, “England 2 - 1 Croatia”, in BBC Sport‎^[1], archived from the original on 2 September 2025:

     The obvious joy of England's players and supporters after that dramatic finale was another indicator that the Uefa Nations League, mocked and maligned at its inception, is capturing the public's imagination.

   • 2025 January 19, Heba Gowayed, “The Laken Riley Act exposes Democrats’ hypocrisy on immigration”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 October 2026:

     Yet, even as Democratic party leadership has decried this mass deportation plan and even as the bill maligns Democrats as victimizing Americans through its policy of “open borders,” 48 Democratic members of Congress voted for this GOP-backed bill.

2. (transitive, archaic) To treat with malice; to show hatred toward; to abuse; to wrong.

   Synonyms: hate on, spite

   • 1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […] (Ancient Irish Histories), Dublin: […] Society of Stationers, […] Hibernia Press, […] [b]y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC:

     The people practice what mischiefs and villainies they will against private men, whom they malign by stealing their goods, or murdering them.

Derived terms

• malignable
• malignation

Translations

slander or traduce; to make defamatory statements about

• Bulgarian: злословя (bg) (zloslovja)
• Czech: pomlouvat (cs) impf, očerňovat impf, špinit (cs) impf
• French: vilipender (fr), injurier (fr)
• German: schlechtmachen (de), verleumden (de), lästern (de), Übles nachsagen
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: βλασφημέω (blasphēméō)

• Latin: diffāmō
• Middle English: malignen
• Romanian: defăima (ro)
• Spanish: malignar (es) (desus.)
• Ukrainian: лихословити (lyxoslovyty)

Anagrams

• Gilman, laming, lingam

Middle English

Adjective

malign

1. alternative form of maligne

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin malignus.

Adjective

malign (masculine and feminine malign, neuter malignt, definite singular and plural maligne)

1. (medicine) malignant

References

• “malign” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “malign” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin malignus.

Adjective

malign (neuter malignt, definite singular and plural maligne)

1. (medicine) malignant

Romanian

Alternative forms

• malin — dated

Adjective

malign m or n (feminine singular malignă, masculine plural maligni, feminine/neuter plural maligne)

1. (medicine) malign

   Antonym: benign

2. (rare, dated) evil

   Synonym: răutăcios

Declension

Declension of malign

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	malign		malignă	maligni	maligne
	definite	malignul		maligna	malignii	malignele
genitive- dative	indefinite	malign		maligne	maligni	maligne
	definite	malignului		malignei	malignilor	malignelor

Swedish

Adjective

malign (not comparable)

1. (medicine) malignant

   Synonym: elakartad

   Antonyms: benign, godartad

   malignt melanom

   malignant melanoma

Declension

Inflection of malign

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	malign	—	—
neuter singular	malignt	—	—
plural	maligna	—	—
masculine plural2	maligne	—	—
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	maligne	—	—
all	maligna	—	—

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

References

• “malign”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “malign”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “malign”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)