|
|
ma·lign
 malign
- pronunciation:
- m
laIn
- parts of speech:
- transitive verb, adjective
| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| inflections: |
maligned, maligning, maligns |
| definition: |
to speak badly of; defame; slander.
The politician complained that she had been maligned by the press.Some parents maligned the teacher and tried to get him fired.- synonyms:
- calumniate, defame, denigrate, libel, slander, smear, smirch, traduce, vilify
- antonyms:
- compliment, laud, praise
- similar words:
- abuse, anathematize, besmirch, blacken, deprecate, discredit, disparage, impugn, revile, run down, soil, stigmatize, sully, tarnish, wrong
|
| related words: |
accuse, affront, assassinate, black, blackguard, blast, cloud |
|
|
| part of speech: |
adjective |
| definition: |
evil in intent, effect, or character.
The letters were obviously sent with malign intent.- synonyms:
- baleful, baneful, evil, injurious, malefic, maleficent, malevolent, pernicious, sinister, spiteful, venomous, virulent, wicked
- antonyms:
- benevolent, benign, kind
- similar words:
- bad, black-hearted, harmful, malicious, ominous, vicious
|
| related words: |
baleful, diabolic, diabolical, evil, portentous, virulent |
| derivations: |
malignly (adv.), maligner (n.) |
|
|