malign
American Heritage Dictionary:
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ma·lign
(mə-līn') 
tr.v., -ligned, -lign·ing, -ligns.
To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of.
adj.
malignly ma·lign'ly adv.
tr.v., -ligned, -lign·ing, -ligns.
To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of.
adj.
- Evil in disposition, nature, or intent.
- Evil in influence; injurious.
- Having or showing malice or ill will; malevolent.
[Middle English malignen, to attack, from Old French malignier, from Late Latin malignārī, from Latin malignus, malign. Adj., from Middle English, from Old French, from Latin malignus.]
maligner ma·lign'er n.malignly ma·lign'ly adv.
SYNONYMS malign, defame, traduce, vilify, asperse, slander, calumniate, libel. These verbs mean to make evil, harmful, often untrue statements about another. Malign stresses malicious intent: "Have I not taken your part when you were maligned?" (Thackeray). Defame suggests damage to reputation through misrepresentation: The plaintiff had been defamed and had legitimate grounds for a lawsuit. Traduce connotes the resulting humiliation or disgrace: "My character was traduced by Captain Hawkins . . . even the ship's company cried out shame" (Frederick Marryat). Vilify pertains to open, deliberate, vicious defamation: "One who belongs to the most vilified and persecuted minority in history is not likely to be insensible to the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution" (Felix Frankfurter). To asperse is to spread unfavorable charges or insinuations against: "Who could be so base as to asperse the character of a family so harmless as ours?" (Oliver Goldsmith). Slander and calumniate apply to oral expression: He slandered his political opponent. She calumniated and ridiculed her former employer. Libel involves the communication of written or pictorial material: The celebrity sued the tabloid that libeled her. See also synonyms at sinister.
Roget's Thesaurus:
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malign
verb
- To make defamatory statements about: asperse, backbite, calumniate, defame, slander, slur, tear down, traduce, vilify. Law libel. Idioms: cast aspersions on. See attack/defend, crimes, law.
adjective
- Strongly suggestive of great harm, menace, or evil: baleful, sinister. See warn/invite.
- Characterized by intense ill will or spite: black, despiteful, evil, hateful, malevolent, malicious, malignant, mean2, nasty, poisonous, spiteful, venomous, vicious, wicked. Slang bitchy. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude.
Antonyms by Answers.com:
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malign
adj
Definition: hurtful, injurious
Antonyms: aiding, beneficial, benign, helpful, nice
v
Definition: slander, defame
Antonyms: praise, uphold
Word Tutor:
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malign
IN BRIEF: To speak evil of especially falsely and severely.
Never malign your friends or they will be friends no more.
LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'malign'
- Judgments Pro and Con - malign: say unpleasant and untrue things about; castigate
- Blame, Censure, Ridicule, and Contempt - malign: (vb) speak evil of; utter injurious, often false, statement; defame, slander
See crossword solutions for the clue Translations:
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Malign
Dansk (Danish)
adj. - skadelig, uheldbringende
v. tr. - tale ondt om, bagtale
Nederlands (Dutch)
kwaadaardig, boosaardig, schadelijk, slecht spreken over
Français (French)
adj. - nuisible
v. tr. - calomnier
Deutsch (German)
v. - verleumden, schlechtmachen
adj. - unheilvoll, bösartig
Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - κακολογώ, διασύρω, διαβάλλω
adj. - κακόβουλος, κακεντρεχής, μοχθηρός, φθοροποιός
Português (Portuguese)
v. - difamar
adj. - maligno
Русский (Russian)
клеветать на кого-л., пагубный, злобный, злокачественный
Español (Spanish)
adj. - maligno, enconoso
v. tr. - detraer, difamar, calumniar
Svenska (Swedish)
v. - baktala
adj. - skadlig, illvillig
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
有害的, 有恶意的, 恶性的, 诽谤, 中伤
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 有害的, 有惡意的, 惡性的
v. tr. - 誹謗, 中傷
한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 나쁜 영향을 주는 , 악성의
v. tr. - 나쁜 영향을 주다
日本語 (Japanese)
v. - そしる, 悪口を言う
adj. - 有害な, 悪意のある, 悪性の
العربيه (Arabic)
(فعل) يضر, يؤذي (صفه) مؤذ, ضار
עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - מזיק, רע
v. tr. - השמיץ, דיבר סרה ב-
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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