malignant

adjective

mə-ˈlig-nənt How to pronounce malignant (audio)
Definition of malignantnext
as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it a malignant wish to lash out at everyone who was smarter, richer, or better-looking than he was

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 malignant Various types of cancer, in which malignant tumors invade surrounding tissues, contributed to between 13,000 and 20,000 deaths annually in this time frame. — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026 Asymptomatic lesions discovered incidentally in populations could also be monitored en masse to generate a robust database that would help researchers learn which types of lesions are more (or less) likely to turn malignant. — Paul Hsieh, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026 Cannon, who has 12 children, announced on a December 2021 episode of his talk show that Zen, his seventh child, had died of brain cancer, just three months after doctors discovered a malignant tumor and fluid building in his head. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 26 June 2026 Mancini then missed the 2020 season after surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his colon. — Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for malignant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malignant
  1. malicious
  2. vicious
  3. cruel
  4. hateful
  5. nasty
Adjective
  • The company wants advanced cybersecurity models to strengthen digital defenses by helping security teams identify and fix vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Their job is to hack devices and patch exploits before malicious actors do.
    — Justyn Newman, PC Magazine, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of malicious
Adjective
  • And on the other side of the ball, this defense has a chance to be downright vicious.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Heidegger, the philosopher of authenticity and independent thought, had become one of them, surrendering to vicious political cant.
    — David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of vicious
Adjective
  • Impermanence turns out to be the cruelest fact and the most merciful one at once.
    — Dr. Lucy McBride, Time, 8 Aug. 2026
  • His central characters can be nasty, disgusting, violent, hysterically cruel, and passionately consumed.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • When Rodrigo, Perry, Grande, and Kahan made public comments, spokespeople for the White House used the opportunity to spread hateful rhetoric.
    — Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Without human oversight, AI can end up penalizing the very communities most vulnerable to the hateful content the systems are designed to combat.
    — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of hateful
Adjective
  • Her boyfriend is nasty Sebastiano’s older soldier son Michelangelo (Lorenzo Richelmy), a true chip off the old block.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Beyond those obvious impediments, Elkins was coming off a nasty stoppage loss in his previous fight against Julian Erosa at UFC 314 in April 2025.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of nasty

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malignancy
malignant
malignantly
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Cite this Entry

“Malignant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malignant. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on malignant

Nglish: Translation of malignant for Spanish Speakers

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