Malignant

/məˈlɪɡnənt/ · adjective

Meaning

Harmful, malevolent, injurious..

Definitions by Sense

1. Harmful, malevolent, injurious.
2. (medicine) Tending to produce death; threatening a fatal issue.
3. A deviant; a person who is hostile or destructive to society.
4. (historical, derogatory, obsolete) A person who fought for Charles I in the English Civil War.

Example Sentences

malignant temper; malignant revenge; malignant infection

[…]while, I fear, there will be some white ones, unable to forget that, with malignant heart, and deceitful speech, they have strove to hinder it.

malignant diphtheria

a malignant tumor

“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes[…]. And then, when you see [the senders], you probably find that they are the most melancholy old folk with malignant diseases. […]”

As devout Stephen was carried to his burial by devout men, so is it just and equal that malignants should carry malignants […]

A malignant in a position of real power immediately becomes a tyrant.

Synonyms for malignant

Antonyms for malignant

Related Words

Word Forms

• more malignant
• most malignant
• malignants

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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