Malicious
Malicious adjective - Having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Usage example: the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip
Malign is a synonym for malicious in attitude topic. In some cases you can use "Malign" instead an adjective "Malicious", when it comes to topics like hateful, spiteful, malevolent. popular alternative
Malign
Malign adjective - Having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Usage example: both parties to the divorce showed a malign desire to make each other's future life utterly miserable
Malicious is a synonym for malign in malevolent topic. You can use "Malicious" instead an adjective "Malign", if it concerns topics such as attitude, harmful. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Cite this Source
Malign and Malicious. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/malicious/malign
Malicious & Malign. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/malicious/malign>.
Malign or Malicious. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/malicious/malign.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "malicious" and "malign" have occurred on timeline