malign

ma·lign

 (mə-līn′)

tr.v. ma·ligned, ma·lign·ing, ma·ligns

To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about (someone).

adj.

1. Evil or harmful in nature or effect: "He felt that the malign influence of the house had governed his own disintegration" (Thomas Wolfe).

2. Intending or threatening harm or ill will; malevolent: "a snarling, bickering husky ... heavy-chested, with a malign eye" (Jack London).

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[Middle English malignen, to attack, from Old French malignier, from Late Latin malignārī, from Latin malignus, malign; see genə- in Indo-European roots. Adj., from Middle English, from Old French, from Latin malignus.]

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ma·lign′er n.

ma·lign′ly adv.

Synonyms: malign, defame, traduce, vilify, 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?" (William Makepeace Thackeray).
Defame suggests damage to reputation through misrepresentation: The plaintiff had been defamed and had legitimate grounds for a lawsuit.
Traduce connotes the humiliation or disgrace resulting from such damage: "My character was traduced by Captain Hawkins ... even the ship's company cried out shame" (Frederick Marryat).
Vilify pertains to open, deliberate, vicious defamation: "As long as there have been personal fouls and holding penalties, sports fans have vilified referees for making bad calls" (Jason Zinoman).
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.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

malign

(məˈlaɪn)

adj

evil in influence, intention, or effect

vb

(tr) to slander or defame

[C14: via Old French from Latin malīgnus spiteful, from malus evil]

maˈligner n

maˈlignly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ma•lign

(məˈlaɪn)

v.t.

1. to speak harmful untruths about; slander; defame.

adj.

2. evil in effect; pernicious.

3. having or showing an evil disposition.

[1275–1325; Middle English maligne < Middle French < Latin malignus. See mal-, benign]

ma•lign′er, n.

ma•lign′ly, adv.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

malign

Past participle: maligned
Gerund: maligning

Imperative

malign

malign

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	malign - speak unfavorably about; "She badmouths her husband everywhere" badmouth, drag through the mud, traduce asperse, besmirch, calumniate, defame, slander, smirch, denigrate, sully, smear - charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone; "The journalists have defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my reputation"
Adj.	1.	malign - evil or harmful in nature or influence; "prompted by malign motives"; "believed in witches and malign spirits"; "gave him a malign look"; "a malign lesion" maleficent - harmful or evil in intent or effect harmful - causing or capable of causing harm; "too much sun is harmful to the skin"; "harmful effects of smoking" unkind - lacking kindness; "a thoughtless and unkind remark"; "the unkindest cut of all" benignant, benign - pleasant and beneficial in nature or influence; "a benign smile"; "the benign sky"; "the benign influence of pure air"
	2.	malign - having or exerting a malignant influence; "malevolent stars"; "a malefic force" malefic, malevolent, evil maleficent - harmful or evil in intent or effect

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

malign

verb

1. disparage, abuse, run down, libel, knock (informal), injure, rubbish (informal), smear, blacken (someone's name), slag (off) (slang), denigrate, revile, vilify, slander, defame, bad-mouth (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), traduce, speak ill of, derogate, do a hatchet job on (informal), calumniate, asperse We maligned him dreadfully, assuming the very worst about him.
disparage praise, compliment, commend, extol big up (slang, chiefly Caribbean)

adjective

1. evil, bad, destructive, harmful, hostile, vicious, malignant, wicked, hurtful, pernicious, malevolent, baleful, deleterious, injurious, baneful, maleficent the malign influence jealousy had on their lives
evil good, kind, friendly, moral, beneficial, harmless, benign, honourable, agreeable, wholesome, benevolent, amiable, virtuous, innocuous, warm-hearted

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

malign

verb

To make defamatory statements about:

asperse, backbite, calumniate, defame, slander, slur, tear down, traduce, vilify.

Law: libel.

Idiom: cast aspersions on.

adjective

1. Strongly suggestive of great harm, menace, or evil:

baleful, sinister.

2. Characterized by intense ill will or spite:

black, despiteful, evil, hateful, malevolent, malicious, malignant, mean, nasty, poisonous, spiteful, venomous, vicious, wicked.

Slang: bitchy.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

يَطْعَنُ في، يَقْدَح في شَخْصٍ بَريء

pomlouvat

bagtale

verleumden

calomnierdiffamerdire du mal demalin

rægja

diffamaremalignaremalignare sumalignonefasto

pikta linkintispiktanoris

apmelotaprunāt

snakke stygt om

iftira etmekkara çalmak

诽谤

malign

[məˈlaɪn]

A. ADJ → maligno, malévolo

B. VT [+ person, reputation] → calumniar, difamar
you malign me → eso no es justo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

malign

[məˈlaɪn] vt → diffamer, calomnier

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

malign

adj (liter) person → boshaft; force, intent → böse; influence, effect → unheilvoll ? also malignant

vt → verleumden; (= run down) → schlechtmachen; without wishing in any way to malign her … → ich will ihr ja nichts (Schlechtes) nachsagen, aber …

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

malign

[məˈlaɪn]

1. adj → malefico/a, nocivo/a

2. vt → diffamare, calunniare, malignare su

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

malign

(məˈlain) verb

to say unpleasant things about (someone or something), especially without reason. He's always maligning his wife when she isn't there. kwaadspreek يَطْعَنُ في، يَقْدَح في شَخْصٍ بَريء злословя caluniar pomlouvat verleumden bagtale κακολογώcalumniar, difamar laimama بدخواهی کردن mustata dire du mal de לְהַשמִיץ बदनाम करना štetiti befeketít memfitnah rægja malignare su, sparlare di 悪口を言う 욕설을 하다 apkalbėti apmelot; aprunāt memfitnah belasterenrakke ned på, snakke stygt om oczerniać چاته بد غوښتل caluniar a vorbi de rău злословить ohovárať obrekovati oklevetati baktala ใส่ร้าย iftira etmek, kara çalmak 誹謗 обмовляти, зводити наклеп ضرر رساں vu khống; nói xấu 诽谤

malignant (məˈlignənt) adjective

1. (of people, their actions etc) intending, or intended, to do harm. a malignant remark. kwaadsprekend خَبيث، مُؤْذٍ злонамерен malévolo škodlivý böswillig ondskabsfuld κακεντρεχήςmaligno pahatahtlik بد نام کردن ilkeä malveillantזדוני अहितकर maligni, zloćudni rosszindulatú jahat illgjarn maligno, malevolo 悪意のある 악의에 찬 piktanoris, pikta linkintis ļauns jahat kwaadaardigond, hatskzłośliwy بد نام كول malévolo maliţios, rău­voi­tor злой, злобный zlomyseľný zlonameren zloban ondskefull ที่มุ่งร้าย kötü, acımasız 有惡意的 злобний; зловредний مہلک có dã tâm 有恶意的

2. (of a tumour, disease etc) likely to become worse and cause death. She died of a malignant tumour. kwaadaardig خَبيث، سَرَطاني، مُهْلِك злокачествен maligno zhoubný bösartig ondartet κακοήθηςmaligno pahaloomuline بدخیم pahanlaatuinen malinממאיר सांघा‍तिक, असाध्य maligni tumor rosszindulatú ganas illkynja maligno 悪性の 악성인 piktybinis ļaundabīgs teruk kwaadaardigondartetzłośliwy په سبب د څه شى maligno malign злокачественный zhubný maligen maligni elakartad เป็นอันตราย habis, ölümcül 惡性的 злоякісний متعدی، مہلک ác tính 恶性的

maˈlignantly adverb

kwaadaardig بِخُبْث злонамерено maldosamente zlomyslně bösartig ondskabsfuldt; ondartet με κακοήθεια malignamente pahatahtlikult بدخواهانه ilkeästi méchammentבזדון असाध्य रूप से zloćudno rosszindulatúan secara jahat illgirnislega malignamente 悪意から 악의에 차서 piktavališkai ļauni; ļaunprātīgi dengan teruk kwaadaardigondt, hatsk, ondsinnet złośliwie په بده غوښتنه maldosamente cu răutate злобно zlomyseľne zlonamerno zlobno ondskefullt อย่างชั่วร้าย kötü niyetle 惡意地 злобно ہلاکت خیزی một cách độc ác 怀恶意地

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