malign

ma·lign  (m-ln)

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

To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of.

adj.

1. Evil in disposition, nature, or intent.

2. Evil in influence; injurious.

3. Having or showing malice or ill will; malevolent.

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

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ma·ligner n.

ma·lignly 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.

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malign [mal-line]

Verb

to say unpleasant and untrue things about someone; slander

Adjective

evil in influence or effect [Latin malignus spiteful]

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

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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 << OPPOSITE praise

adjective 2. evil, bad, destructive, harmful, hostile, vicious, malignant, wicked, hurtful, pernicious, malevolent, baleful, deleterious, injurious, baneful, maleficent << OPPOSITE good

Translations

malign [məˈlaɪn] vt → difamar, calumniar

adj → maligno

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malign [məˈlaɪn] vt → diffamer, calomnier

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malign [məˈlaɪn] vt → verleumden

adj (influence) → schlecht;

(interpretation) → böswillig

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malign [məˈlaɪn] vt → malignare su; calunniare