malicious

[muh-lish-uhs] / məˈlɪʃ əs /

ADJECTIVE

hateful

Synonyms

STRONGEST

malevolent malignant mischievous nasty pernicious petty spiteful vengeful venomous vicious virulent wicked

WEAK

awful bad-natured baleful beastly bitter catty cussed deleterious despiteful detrimental envious evil evil-minded green green-eyed gross ill-disposed injurious jealous low malign mean noxious ornery poisonous rancorous resentful uncool

Antonyms

STRONGEST

aiding assisting decent forgiving friendly gentle good harmless helpful kind liking loving moral nice pleasant pleasing useful

WEAK

benevolent likeable sympathetic thoughtful

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Plaintiff’s false, malicious, and bad faith statements have wreaked havoc on Ms. Hajdini’s life.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

Salieri is malicious and conniving, which Bettany disconcertingly says was very easy to embody.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

Patel filed a $250 million suit last month against The Atlantic magazine and the author of the article, Sarah Fitzpatrick, calling it a "sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece."

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

I guess if I walk through the various checks available—One: criminal charges for malicious prosecution and other kinds of things.

From Slate • May 4, 2026

The Company had no sooner warmed to Miss Whitlaw than other demons proved just how malicious they could be.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

Vocabulary lists containing malicious

The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 2

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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!