Malicious Meaning
/məˈlɪʃəs/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjIntending to do harm; characterized by spite and malice.
Sentence Examples
Malicious gossip spreads like wildfire. I guess that's why they say bad news travels fast.
Beware of 'One Ring' malicious nuisance calls!!
There shall be no hindrances to my malicious plan.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ email was written specifically to make the reader feel sad.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The website was attacked by a ____ software program that tried to steal users' personal information.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English malicious, from Old French malicios, from Latin malitiōsus, from malitia (“malice”), from malus (“bad”). Displaced native Middle English ivelwilled and ivelwilly (“malicious”), related to Old English yfelwillende (literally “evil-willing”). By surface analysis, malice + -ious.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And novv, if you are a Malitious Reader, I expect you ſhould return upon me, that I affect to be thought more Impartial than I am."
— 1681, [John Dryden], “To the Reader”, in Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem, London: […] J[acob] T[onson] and are to be sold by W. Davis […], →OCLC:
"They gathered soberly in the farthest recess of the ward and gossiped about him in malicious, offended undertones, rebelling against his presence as a ghastly imposition and resenting him malevolently for the nauseating truth of which he was bright reminder."
— 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 169:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ email was written specifically to make the reader feel sad.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The website was attacked by a ____ software program that tried to steal users' personal information.