malignant
disposed to cause harm, suffering, or distress deliberately; feeling or showing ill will or hatred.
very dangerous or harmful in influence or effect.
Pathology.
tending to produce death, as bubonic plague.
(of a tumor) characterized by uncontrolled growth; cancerous, invasive, or metastatic.
Origin of malignant
1Other words for malignant
Opposites for malignant
Other words from malignant
- ma·lig·nant·ly, adverb
- non·ma·lig·nant, adjective
- non·ma·lig·nant·ly, adverb
- sem·i·ma·lig·nant, adjective
- sem·i·ma·lig·nant·ly, adverb
- un·ma·lig·nant, adjective
- un·ma·lig·nant·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for malignant
/ (məˈlɪɡnənt) /
having or showing desire to harm others
tending to cause great harm; injurious
pathol (of a tumour) uncontrollable or resistant to therapy; rapidly spreading
history (in the English Civil War) a Parliamentarian term for a royalist (def. 1)
Origin of malignant
1Derived forms of malignant
- malignantly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for malignant
[ mə-lĭg′nənt ]
Tending to have a destructive clinical course, as a malignant illness.
Relating to cancer cells that are invasive and tend to metastasize. Malignant tumor cells are histologically more primitive than normal tissue. Compare benign.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for malignant
A descriptive term for things or conditions that threaten life or well-being. Malignant is the opposite of benign.
Notes for malignant
Notes for malignant
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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