MALICIOUS Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

malicious

adjective

mə-ˈli-shəs

Definition of malicious

as in vicious

having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of malicious Tech companies are playing whack-a-mole around the world as their models get up to more hijinks and are used for malicious purposes. — J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2026 More than 300,000 new types of malicious software are discovered daily, according to IT security research institute AV-TEST. — Brian Sloan, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026 The lawsuit alleges negligence, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false arrests, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, attorney Michael Gallagher said at a news conference Monday. — Daniella Silva, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2026 The federal lawsuit alleges negligence, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution, false arrest, and false imprisonment. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 5 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for malicious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious

Adjective

So too, the possibility of Rollerball-style carnage carnivals where robots compete in vicious cage matches until only one android is still moving.

— Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Cash reserves totaling $ 7,450,869 are being used to eviscerate his opponent with a vicious barrage of ad hominem assaults, thus giving him a 61 to 1 spending edge.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of vicious

Adjective

In response to legislation to end the cruelty once and for all, the Daily News once again trotted out its old and tired defense of this cruel, deadly and outdated industry.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Policing cringe is the cruelest métier of the internet—the origin of harassment campaigns and platforming of contempt.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of cruel

Adjective

Ossoff went a step further, accusing Collins himself of amplifying hateful content and saying that his former congressional aide had intervened on behalf of a Holocaust denier.

— AJC.com, AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Online trolls posting hateful comments on social media don't establish how the crowd at Gainbridge behaves.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of hateful

Adjective

The polls still show a close-range contest, but in the increasingly nasty ad war, the spending suggests a far more lopsided fight.

— Philip Elliott, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
Officers then cuffed the youngster as he was loaded into an ambulance and hospitalized for a fractured femur and a nasty bruise on his head, according to the lawsuit, which was filed by the teen’s dad, Mahmoud Saleh, in Brooklyn Federal Court.

— John Annese, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of nasty

Adjective

The films leap from 1994 to 1978 to 1666 as high schooler Deena (Kiana Madeira) and her friends battle a malevolent witch from the town’s past to save her girlfriend, Sam (Olivia Scott Welch).

— Sara Netzley, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Oct. 2026
Shunned by locals, who believe she is cursed, Eleni turns to ancient rituals to resurrect her dead offspring but instead summons malevolent folkloric creatures known as the Kalikantzari.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of malevolent

Adjective

Before enrollment, people volunteering for the study would be screened for early signs of cancer because TB-4 triggers vessel growth and cell migration, which might exacerbate malignant growths.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Experts say the nodule could be benign or malignant and that prompt evaluation is important.

— ABC News, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of malignant

Browse Nearby Words

malice

malicious

maliciously

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“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of malicious

adjective

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