malign
malign
Definition
ma·lign (mə līn′)
transitive verb
to speak evil of; defame; slander; traduce
Etymology: ME malignen < OFr malignier, to plot, deceive < LL malignare < LL malignus, wicked, malicious < male, ill (see mal-) + base of genus, born: see genus
adjective
- showing ill will; malicious
- evil; baleful a malign influence
- very harmful; malignant
ma·lign′er noun
malign
Synonyms
malign
Usage Examples
Object
- genre: Frankly, it's been a pretty maligned genre.
- people: But today the Member has maligned the people of Northern Ireland.
- word: It was Riley's call to arms, her challenge to celebrate singleness, to re-establish that much maligned, splendid word, spinster.
- band: A much maligned band who get even more stick than SLF for jumping on the bandwagon.
- one: Then in verse 2 he moves on in his list of seven virtues, " To malign no one.
- man: The shop steward is the most maligned man in industry.
Modifies a noun
- intent: The Government maintain that they have no malign intent, nor any current plans to use their vast array of order-making powers.
- influence: I'm sure his malign influence can be detected in the novel.
- spirit: The calendar also had five unlucky " leap days " known by this name and ruled over by malign spirits.
- force: There are people who are eaten up by religious mania, swept along by some malign force which they call faith.
- effect: In particular he must purge himself from the malign effects of his material body.
- presence: In all its malign presence is felt on eight local councils.
Modifying Another Word
- unfairly: Serra is often unfairly maligned for his work on GE, I think.
- much: Much maligned frontman Tom Chaplin told Q: " The new album will be very personal, to be honest.
- often: The fashion industry is one of the sectors so often maligned because of the manufacturing choices that design houses make.
- so: He says; How can an award have been so maligned, but also so eagerly sought after?
- unjustly: Firstly, Nick, you have unjustly maligned John Muir.
- sometimes: If his influence has been sometimes malign, he can hardly be blamed.
Browse dictionary entries near malign
- malicious prosecution
- malicious mischief
- Malicious Code
- malicious arrest
- malicious
- malice aforethought
- malice
- malic acid
- Mali
- malfunction
- malignancy
- malignant
- maligned
- malignity
- malihini
- malines
- malinger
- Malinke
- Malinowski
- malison
