31 results for: Malice

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mal·ice

Audio Help [mal-is] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness: the malice and spite of a lifelong enemy.

2.	Law. evil intent on the part of a person who commits a wrongful act injurious to others.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME < OF < L malitia. See mal-, -ice

]

—Synonyms 1. ill will, spite, spitefulness; animosity, enmity; malevolence; venom, hate, hatred; bitterness, rancor. See grudge.

—Antonyms 1. benevolence, goodwill.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Malice

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mal·ice Audio Help (māl'ĭs) Pronunciation Key
n.

A desire to harm others or to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite.
Law The intent, without just cause or reason, to commit a wrongful act that will result in harm to another.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin malitia, from malus, bad; see mel-³ in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
malice

1297, "desire to hurt another," from O.Fr. malice "ill will, spite," from L. malitia "badness, ill will, spite," from malus "bad" (see mal-). In legal use, "wrongful intent generally" (1547). Malicious (c.1225) is O.Fr. malicius "showing ill will," from L. maliciosus "full of malice," from malitia.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

malice
noun
1.	feeling a need to see others suffer
2.	the quality of threatening evil [syn: malevolence]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
malice [ˈmӕlis] noun

the wish to harm other people etc
Example: There was no malice intended in what she said.

Arabic:	حِقْد، ضَغينَه، مَكْر
Chinese (Simplified):	恶意
Chinese (Traditional):	惡意
Czech:	zloba, nepřátelství
Danish:	ondskabsfuldhed
Dutch:	kwaadaardigheid
Estonian:	kuri kavatsus
Finnish:	paha aikomus
French:	méchanceté
German:	diee Böswilligkeit
Greek:	κακία, δόλος
Hungarian:	rosszindulat
Icelandic:	illgirni, meinfÿsni
Indonesian:	kejahatan
Italian:	malanimo

Japanese:	悪意
Korean:	악의
Latvian:	ļaunprātība
Lithuanian:	pikta valia, pikti kėslai
Norwegian:	ondskap; nag, sjikane
Polish:	złośliwość
Portuguese (Brazil):	maldade
Portuguese (Portugal):	maldade
Romanian:	răutate
Russian:	злой умысел
Slovak:	zloba, nenávisť
Slovenian:	zloba
Spanish:	malicia
Swedish:	illvilja
Turkish:	kötülük

See also: malicious

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: mal·ice
Pronunciation: 'ma-l&s
Function: noun
1 a : the intention or desire to cause harm (as death, bodily injury, or property damage) to another through an unlawful or wrongful act without justification or excuse b : wanton disregard for the rights of others or for the value of human life c : an improper or evil motive or purpose <if malice cannot be proved or a benign purpose can be imagined —David Kairys> d : ACTUAL MALICE 2 in this entry

actual malice
1 : malice proved by evidence to exist or have existed in one that inflicts unjustified harm on another: as a : an intent to injure or kill b : MALICE 2 called also express malice malice in fact
2 a : the knowledge that defamatory statements esp. regarding a public figure are false b : RECKLESS DISREGARD OF THE TRUTH —see also PUBLIC FIGURE New York Times Company v. Sullivan in the IMPORTANT CASES section

implied malice
: malice inferred from the nature or consequences of a harmful act done without justification or excuse; also : malice inferred from subjective awareness of duty or of the likely results of one's act called also legal malice malice in law

malice aforethought
: actual or implied malice existing in or attributed to the intention of one that injures or esp. kills without justification or excuse and usually requiring some degree of deliberation or premeditation or wanton disregard for life <murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought —California Penal Code>

malice in fact
: ACTUAL MALICE 1 in this entry

malice in law
: IMPLIED MALICE in this entry
2 : feelings of ill will, spite, or revenge
NOTE: Such feelings are usually not an important component of malice in legal consideration unless punitive damages or actual malice is an issue.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Malice

Mal-\ A prefix in composition denoting ill,or evil, F. male, adv., fr. malus, bad, ill. In some words it has the form male-, as in malediction, malevolent. See Malice.

Note: The formmale- is chiefly used in cases where the c, either alone or with other letters, is pronounced as a separate syllable, as in malediction, malefactor, maleficent, etc. Where this is not the case, as in malfeasance or male-feasance, malformation or male-formation, etc., as also where the word to which it is prefixed commences with a vowel, as in maladministration, etc., the form malis to be preferred, and is the one commonly employed.

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Malice

Mal`a*droit"\, a. [F. See Malice, and Adroit.] Of a quality opposed to adroitness; clumsy; awkward; unskillful. -- Mal"a*droit`ly, adv. -- Mal`a*droit"ness, n.

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Malice

Mal"a*dy\, n.; pl. Maladies. [F. maladie, fr. malade ill, sick, OF. also, malabde, fr. L. male habitus, i. e., ill-kept, not in good condition. See Malice, and Habit.]

1. Any disease of the human body; a distemper, disorder, or indisposition, proceeding from impaired, defective, or morbid organic functions; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder.

The maladies of the body may prove medicines to the mind. --Buckminster.

2. A moral or mental defect or disorder.

Love's a malady without a cure. --Dryden.

Syn: Disorder; distemper; sickness; ailment; disease; illness. See Disease.

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Malice

Mal"a*pert\, a. [OF. malapert unskillful, ill-taught, ill-bred; mal ill + apert open, adroit, intelligent, L. apertus, p. p. of aperire to open. See Malice, and Aperient.] Bold; forward; impudent; saucy; pert. --Shak. -- n. A malapert person.

Are you growing malapert! Will you force me to make use of my authority ? --Dryden. -- Mal"a*pert`ly, adv. -- Mal"a*pert`ness, n.

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Malice

Ma*la"ri*a\, n. [It., contr. fr. malaaria bad air. See Malice, and Air.]

1. Air infected with some noxious substance capable of engendering disease; esp., an unhealthy exhalation from certain soils, as marshy or wet lands, producing fevers; miasma.

Note: The morbific agent in malaria is supposed by some to be a vegetable microbe or its spores, and by others to be a very minute animal blood parasite (an infusorian).

2. (Med.) A morbid condition produced by exhalations from decaying vegetable matter in contact with moisture, giving rise to fever and ague and many other symptoms characterized by their tendency to recur at definite and usually uniform intervals.

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Malice

Mal"con*tent`\, a. [F., fr. mal ill + content. See Malice, Content.] discontented; uneasy; dissatisfied; especially, dissatisfied with the government. [Written also malecontent.]

The famous malcontent earl of Leicester. --Milner.

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Malice

Male\, a. [L. malus. See Malice.] Evil; wicked; bad. [Obs.] --Marston.

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Malice

Mal`e*di"cent\, a. [L. maledicens, p. pr. of maledicere to speak ill; male ill + dicere to say, speak. See Malice, and Diction.] Speaking reproachfully; slanderous. [Obs.] --Sir E. Sandys.

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Malice

Mal`e*fac"tor\, n. [L., fr. malefacere to do evil; male ill, evil + facere to do. See Malice, and Fact.]

1. An evil doer; one who commits a crime; one subject to public prosecution and punishment; a criminal.

2. One who does wrong by injuring another, although not a criminal. [Obs.] --H. Brooke. Fuller.

Syn: Evil doer; criminal; culprit; felon; convict.

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Malice

Ma*lev"o*lence\, n. [L. malevolentia. See Malevolent.] The quality or state of being malevolent; evil disposition toward another; inclination to injure others; ill will. See Synonym of Malice.

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Malice

Ma*lev"o*lent\, a. [L. malevolens, -entis; male ill + volens, p. pr. of velle to be willing or disposed, to wish. See Malice, and Voluntary.] Wishing evil; disposed to injure others; rejoicing in another's misfortune.

Syn: Ill-disposed; envious; mischievous; evil-minded; spiteful; malicious; malignant; rancorous.

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Malice

Mal*fea"sance\, n. [F. malfaisance, fr. malfaisant injurious, doing ill; mal ill, evil + faisant doing, p. pr. of faire to do. See Malice, Feasible, and cf. Maleficence.] (Law) The doing of an act which a person ought not to do; evil conduct; an illegal deed. [Written also malefeasance.]

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Malice

Mal"ice\, n. [F. malice, fr. L. malitia, from malus bad, ill, evil, prob. orig., dirty, black; cf. Gr. ? black, Skr. mala dirt. Cf. Mauger.]

1. Enmity of heart; malevolence; ill will; a spirit delighting in harm or misfortune to another; a disposition to injure another; a malignant design of evil. "Nor set down aught in malice." --Shak.

Envy, hatred, and malice are three distinct passions of the mind. --Ld. Holt.

2. (Law) Any wicked or mischievous intention of the mind; a depraved inclination to mischief; an intention to vex, annoy, or injure another person, or to do a wrongful act without just cause or cause or excuse; a wanton disregard of the rights or safety of others; willfulness.

Malice aforethought or prepense, malice previously and deliberately entertained.

Syn: Spite; ill will; malevolence; grudge; pique; bitterness; animosity; malignity; maliciousness; rancor; virulence.

Usage: See Spite. -- Malevolence, Malignity, Malignancy. Malice is a stronger word than malevolence, which may imply only a desire that evil may befall another, while malice desires, and perhaps intends, to bring it about. Malignity is intense and deepseated malice. It implies a natural delight in hating and wronging others. One who is malignant must be both malevolent and malicious; but a man may be malicious without being malignant.

Proud tyrants who maliciously destroy And ride o'er ruins with malignant joy. --Somerville.

in some connections, malignity seems rather more pertinently applied to a radical depravity of nature, and malignancy to indications of this depravity, in temper and conduct in particular instances. --Cogan.

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Malice

Mal"ice\, v. t. To regard with extreme ill will. [Obs.]

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Malice

Ma*li"cious\, a. [Of. malicius, F. malicieux, fr. L. malitiosus. See Malice.]

1. Indulging or exercising malice; harboring ill will or enmity.

I grant him bloody, . . . Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin That has a name. --Shak.

2. Proceeding from hatred or ill will; dictated by malice; as, a malicious report; malicious mischief.

3. (Law)With wicked or mischievous intentions or motives; wrongful and done intentionally without just cause or excuse; as, a malicious act.

Malicious abandonment, the desertion of a wife or husband without just cause. --Burrill.

Malicious mischief (Law), malicious injury to the property of another; -- an offense at common law. --Wharton.

Malicious prosecution or arrest (Law), a wanton prosecution or arrest, by regular process in a civil or criminal proceeding, without probable cause. --Bouvier.

Syn: Ill-disposed; evil-minded; mischievous; envious; malevolent; invidious; spiteful; bitter; malignant; rancorous; malign. -- Ma*li"cious*ly, adv. -- Ma*li"cious*ness, n.

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Malice

Ma*lign"\, a. [L. malignus, for maligenus, i. e., of a bad kind or nature; malus bad + the root of genus birth, race, kind: cf. F. malin, masc., maligne, fem. See Malice, Gender, and cf. Benign, Malignant.]

1. Having an evil disposition toward others; harboring violent enmity; malevolent; malicious; spiteful; -- opposed to benign.

Witchcraft may be by operation of malign spirits. --Bacon.

2. Unfavorable; unpropitious; pernicious; tending to injure; as, a malign aspect of planets.

3. Malignant; as, a malign ulcer. [R.] --Bacon.

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Malice

Ma*lig"nance\, Malignancy \Ma*lig"nan*cy\, n. [See Malignant.]

1. The state or quality of being malignant; extreme malevolence; bitter enmity; malice; as, malignancy of heart.

2. Unfavorableness; evil nature.

The malignancy of my fate might perhaps distemner yours. --Shak.

3. (Med.) Virulence; tendency to a fatal issue; as, the malignancy of an ulcer or of a fever.

4. The state of being a malignant.

Syn: Malice; malevolence; malignity. See Malice.

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Malice

Ma*lig"ni*ty\, n. [F. malignit['e], L. malignitas.]

1. The state or quality of being malignant; disposition to do evil; virulent enmity; malignancy; malice; spite.

2. Virulence; deadly quality.

His physicians discerned an invincible malignity in his disease. --Hayward.

3. Extreme evilness of nature or influence; perniciousness; heinousness; as, the malignity of fraud. [R.]

Syn: See Malice.

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Malice

Mal"ta*lent\, n. [F. See Malice, and Talent.] Ill will; malice. [Obs.] --Rom. of R. Spenser.

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Malice

Mal`ver*sa"tion\, n. [F., fr. malverser to be corrupt in office, fr. L. male ill + versari to move about, to occupy one's self, vertere to turn. See Malice, and Verse.] Evil conduct; fraudulent practices; misbehavior, corruption, or extortion in office.

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Malice

Ma*raud"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Marauded; p. pr. & vb. n. Marauding.] [F. marauder, fr. maraud vagabond, OF. marault; of uncertain origin, perh. for malault, fr. (assumed) LL. malaldus; fr. L. malus bad, ill + a suffix of German origin (cf. Herald). Cf. Malice.] To rove in quest of plunder; to make an excursion for booty; to plunder. "Marauding hosts." --Milman.

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Malice

Mau"ger\, Maugre \Mau"gre\, prep. [OF. maugr['e], malgr['e], F. malgr['e]. See Mal-, Malice, and Agree.] In spite of; in opposition to; notwithstanding.

A man must needs love maugre his heed. --Chaucer.

This mauger all the world will I keep safe. --Shak.

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Malice

Mel"an*chol*y\, n. [OE. melancolie, F. m['e]lancolie, L. melancholia, fr. Gr. ?; me`las, -anos, black + ? gall, bile. See Malice, and 1st Gall.]

1. Depression of spirits; a gloomy state continuing a considerable time; deep dejection; gloominess. --Shak.

2. Great and continued depression of spirits, amounting to mental unsoundness; melancholia.

3. Pensive maditation; serious thoughtfulness. [Obs.] "Hail, divinest Melancholy !" --Milton.

4. Ill nature. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

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Malice

Spite\, n. [Abbreviated fr. despite.]

1. Ill-will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; petty malice; grudge; rancor; despite. --Pope.

This is the deadly spite that angers. --Shak.

2. Vexation; chargrin; mortification. [R.] --Shak.

In spite of, or Spite of, in opposition to all efforts of; in defiance or contempt of; notwithstanding. "Continuing, spite of pain, to use a knee after it had been slightly ibnjured." --H. Spenser. "And saved me in spite of the world, the devil, and myself." --South. "In spite of all applications, the patient grew worse every day." --Arbuthnot. See Syn. under Notwithstanding.

To owe one a spite, to entertain a mean hatred for him.

Syn: Pique, rancor; malevolence; grudge.

Usage: Spite, Malice. Malice has more reference to the disposition, and spite to the manifestation of it in words and actions. It is, therefore, meaner than malice, thought not always more criminal. " Malice . . . is more frequently employed to express the dispositions of inferior minds to execute every purpose of mischief within the more limited circle of their abilities." --Cogan. "Consider eke, that spite availeth naught." --Wyatt. See Pique.

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