malicious Hear it!

malicious Definition

ma·li·cious (mə lis̸həs)

adjective

having, showing, or caused by malice; spiteful; intentionally mischievous or harmful

Etymology: ME < OFr malicios < L malitiosus < malitia: see malice

malicious Related Forms
ma·li·ciously adverb ma·li·cious·ness noun
malicious Synonyms

malicious

modif.

ill-disposed, spiteful, hateful; see wicked 1, 2.

malicious Usage Examples

Used with adjective complement

  • include: These include malicious Spyware, nuisance adware, phishing attacks and cookies.
  • get: Or did you know that and decided to get malicious because you were just made of fool of?

Modifies a noun

  • falsehood: In this respect, actions for malicious falsehood were on the rise.
  • intent: Less malicious intent will more likely result in posts being moderated.
  • hacker: In plain English - it keeps out any malicious hackers.
  • gossip: In the first case, Smith hears some malicious gossip about the past career of Jones.
  • spyware: Privacy and Security Built with your security in mind, Firefox keeps your computer safe from malicious spyware by not loading harmful ActiveX controls.
  • code: Steps You Can Take The malicious code has to get into your PC somehow.

Modifying Another Word

  • potentially: Most systems have around 80 or 90 pieces of potentially malicious code on them within a short time of connecting up to the internet.
  • deliberately: But it is more difficult when someone is being deliberately malicious toward us or our family.
  • possibly: Rootkits, which make system changes to hide another piece of possibly malicious software, are less widespread, with removals from 780,000 PCs.
  • particularly: Or you can sneak up behind unsuspecting mercenary types and knife them in the spine, if you're a particularly malicious individual.
  • even: He did not criticize, but was one-sided, exaggerated, even malicious; he gave nothing to which the Party could usefully turn.
  • often: The virus writers used to hide viruses here ( often malicious ones ).

Preposition: in

  • nature: This is a valid executable, it is not malicious in nature.
  • intent: Occasionally, unkindness becomes more targeted and perhaps malicious in intent and could therefore be classified as bullying.
malicious Quotes

Raffiniert ist der Herrgott, aber boshaft ist er nicht. God is subtle, but he is not malicious.

—Einstein, Albert

A most horrid malicious bloody flame† It made me weep to see it.

—Pepys, Samuel