as in vicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of malicious
Jamison Wagner, 40, faces two federal counts of malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives, the Department of Justice said in a press release Monday.
—
Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025
Caton was charged with three felonies: unlawful firearm discharge at an occupied vehicle, assault with intent to murder and malicious injury to property.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2025
Four teenagers were charged in the shooting with with malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony unlawful assembly, officials said Wednesday.
—Charles Ventura, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2025
Jay, neé Shawn Carter, responded by suing both Doe and Buzbee in Alabama — where the accuser resides — arguing the case was a malicious and baseless smear attempt.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025
Caton was charged with three felonies: unlawful firearm discharge at an occupied vehicle, assault with intent to murder and malicious injury to property.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2025
Four teenagers were charged in the shooting with with malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony unlawful assembly, officials said Wednesday.
—Charles Ventura, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2025
Jay, neé Shawn Carter, responded by suing both Doe and Buzbee in Alabama — where the accuser resides — arguing the case was a malicious and baseless smear attempt.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malicious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious
Adjective
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This was a vicious weaponization of your government.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
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Shauna may be the vicious Antler Queen now, but Lottie also played a role in Mari’s death.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Everybody else has no choice, really, other than to bring a cruel, narcissistic far-right leader to power.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2025
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The cruelest part is that the good ones are mixed with the bad ones.—
Matt Rivers,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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That a little rectangle of cardboard and paper and ink is no match for all the hateful rhetoric about books somehow hurting children.—
Sarah Hoffman and Ian Hoffman,
TIME,
10 Mar. 2025
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As quickly as the Oakland Parks Department paints over these hateful tropes, fresh ones appear.—
Mark Cohen,
The Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Switching out a pump in a pit filled with raw sewage is nasty work.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
12 Apr. 2025
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The bear is back and things may stay nasty for the rest of 2025.—
Brett Owens,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In the comics, Bob Reynolds/Sentry has a split personality and his other persona is that of The Void, a malevolent villain.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
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Last seen on Broadway in the excellent 2019 solo one-acts Sea Wall/A Life, Gyllenhaal bounds, loose-limbed and bursting with malevolent energy, onto the Barrymore stage and barely takes a breath for the next nearly three hours.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Several diss tracks followed, with the musicians hurling increasingly spiteful insults at each other relating to accusations of domestic abuse, exploitation and pedophilia.—
Winston Cho,
The Hollywood Reporter,
17 Mar. 2025
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The more spiteful Drake could smell a world of buff, misogynistic grifters taking hold and made sure to set up shop where the audience would be.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Based on breast imaging, AI tools can be used to better predict if a lesion is malignant and support clinical decision making.—
Eyal Shamir,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
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The research also showed lower mortality risks from some forms of cancer and HIV and lower mortality rates for malignant neoplasms, HIV, and diabetes mellitus.—
Paul Smaglik,
Discover Magazine,
12 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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