malign
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Related to malign: biped
ma·lign
(mə-līn′)tr.v. ma·ligned, ma·lign·ing, ma·ligns
To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about (someone).
adj.
1. Evil or harmful in nature or effect: "He felt that the malign influence of the house had governed his own disintegration" (Thomas Wolfe).
2. Intending or threatening harm or ill will; malevolent: "a snarling, bickering husky ... heavy-chested, with a malign eye" (Jack London).
[Middle English malignen, to attack, from Old French malignier, from Late Latin malignārī, from Latin malignus, malign; see genə- in Indo-European roots. Adj., from Middle English, from Old French, from Latin malignus.]
ma·lign′er n.
ma·lign′ly adv.
Synonyms: malign, defame, traduce, vilify, slander, calumniate, libel
These verbs mean to make evil, harmful, often untrue statements about another. Malign stresses malicious intent: "Have I not taken your part when you were maligned?" (William Makepeace Thackeray).
Defame suggests damage to reputation through misrepresentation: The plaintiff had been defamed and had legitimate grounds for a lawsuit.
Traduce connotes the humiliation or disgrace resulting from such damage: "My character was traduced by Captain Hawkins ... even the ship's company cried out shame" (Frederick Marryat).
Vilify pertains to open, deliberate, vicious defamation: "As long as there have been personal fouls and holding penalties, sports fans have vilified referees for making bad calls" (Jason Zinoman).
Slander and calumniate apply to oral expression: He slandered his political opponent. She calumniated and ridiculed her former employer.
Libel involves the communication of written or pictorial material: The celebrity sued the tabloid that libeled her.
These verbs mean to make evil, harmful, often untrue statements about another. Malign stresses malicious intent: "Have I not taken your part when you were maligned?" (William Makepeace Thackeray).
Defame suggests damage to reputation through misrepresentation: The plaintiff had been defamed and had legitimate grounds for a lawsuit.
Traduce connotes the humiliation or disgrace resulting from such damage: "My character was traduced by Captain Hawkins ... even the ship's company cried out shame" (Frederick Marryat).
Vilify pertains to open, deliberate, vicious defamation: "As long as there have been personal fouls and holding penalties, sports fans have vilified referees for making bad calls" (Jason Zinoman).
Slander and calumniate apply to oral expression: He slandered his political opponent. She calumniated and ridiculed her former employer.
Libel involves the communication of written or pictorial material: The celebrity sued the tabloid that libeled her.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
malign
(məˈlaɪn)adj
evil in influence, intention, or effect
vb
(tr) to slander or defame
[C14: via Old French from Latin malīgnus spiteful, from malus evil]
maˈligner n
maˈlignly adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ma•lign
(məˈlaɪn)v.t.
1. to speak harmful untruths about; slander; defame.
adj. 2. evil in effect; pernicious.
3. having or showing an evil disposition.
ma•lign′er, n.
ma•lign′ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
malign
Past participle: maligned
Gerund: maligning
| Imperative |
|---|
| malign |
| malign |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. |  malign - speak unfavorably about; "She badmouths her husband everywhere" |
| Adj. | 1. | malign - evil or harmful in nature or influence; "prompted by malign motives"; "believed in witches and malign spirits"; "gave him a malign look"; "a malign lesion" maleficent - harmful or evil in intent or effect harmful - causing or capable of causing harm; "too much sun is harmful to the skin"; "harmful effects of smoking" unkind - lacking kindness; "a thoughtless and unkind remark"; "the unkindest cut of all" |
| 2. |  malign - having or exerting a malignant influence; "malevolent stars"; "a malefic force"maleficent - harmful or evil in intent or effect |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
malign
verb
1. disparage, abuse, run down, libel, knock (informal), injure, rubbish (informal), smear, blacken (someone's name), slag (off) (slang), denigrate, revile, vilify, slander, defame, bad-mouth (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), traduce, speak ill of, derogate, do a hatchet job on (informal), calumniate, asperse We maligned him dreadfully, assuming the very worst about him.
disparage praise, compliment, commend, extol big up (slang, chiefly Caribbean)
disparage praise, compliment, commend, extol big up (slang, chiefly Caribbean)
adjective
1. evil, bad, destructive, harmful, hostile, vicious, malignant, wicked, hurtful, pernicious, malevolent, baleful, deleterious, injurious, baneful, maleficent the malign influence jealousy had on their lives
evil good, kind, friendly, moral, beneficial, harmless, benign, honourable, agreeable, wholesome, benevolent, amiable, virtuous, innocuous, warm-hearted
evil good, kind, friendly, moral, beneficial, harmless, benign, honourable, agreeable, wholesome, benevolent, amiable, virtuous, innocuous, warm-hearted
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
malign
verbadjective
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَطْعَنُ في، يَقْدَح في شَخْصٍ بَريء
pomlouvat
bagtale
rægja
pikta linkintispiktanoris
apmelotaprunāt
iftira etmekkara çalmak
malign
[məˈlaɪn]Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
malign
vt → verleumden; (= run down) → schlechtmachen; without wishing in any way to malign her … → ich will ihr ja nichts (Schlechtes) nachsagen, aber …
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
malign
(məˈlain) verb to say unpleasant things about (someone or something), especially without reason. He's always maligning his wife when she isn't there.
malignant (məˈlignənt) adjective1. (of people, their actions etc) intending, or intended, to do harm. a malignant remark.
2. (of a tumour, disease etc) likely to become worse and cause death. She died of a malignant tumour.
maˈlignantly adverbKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.