as in malice
the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm
the reviewer was criticized not for his negative review of the singer's album but for the malignance with which he expressed his disapproval of her lavish lifestyle
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Recent Examples of malignance
This is a movement that many progressives view as promising to reinvigorate hearts and minds, but that others warn may deliver different doses of theological malignance.
—
Audrey Clare Farley, The New Republic, 3 Jan. 2022
Where purity culture twists normal desires into malignance?
—Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2021
By definition Mishler’s content attracts people seeking refuge, but the exceptional malignance of 2020 has colored both her videos and the attitude of her fan base.
—New York Times, 25 Nov. 2020
Consequently, the growth disruption itself has exacerbated the cultural and economic malignance that helped create the underperforming trend in the first place.
—David L. Bahnsen, National Review, 13 Feb. 2018
Audrey Clare Farley, The New Republic, 3 Jan. 2022
Where purity culture twists normal desires into malignance?
—Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2021
By definition Mishler’s content attracts people seeking refuge, but the exceptional malignance of 2020 has colored both her videos and the attitude of her fan base.
—New York Times, 25 Nov. 2020
Consequently, the growth disruption itself has exacerbated the cultural and economic malignance that helped create the underperforming trend in the first place.
—David L. Bahnsen, National Review, 13 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malignance
Noun
-
Slightly off-topic comments can derail it so far away from the original point, and it isn't always done with malice.—
Peter Suciu,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
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To borrow another logical principle, Hanlon's razor: Don't ascribe to malice that which can be otherwise explained by rank incompetence.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Chung also used a powerful MRI scanner to produce images of the octopuses’ brains and internal organs, discovering that the males had larger venom glands than females despite their smaller size.—
Jack Guy,
CNN,
13 Mar. 2025
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Once the venom wore off, the females merely forced the males away, with all six females surviving to lay their eggs.—
Sam Walters,
Discover Magazine,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Woodland police detectives on Tuesday arrested Christian Jacobo, 22, on suspicion of murder and willful cruelty toward a child causing death, police officials said in a Friday news release.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
11 Apr. 2025
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But what’s even creepier is Remmick’s invitation to the holdouts to join them, promising an escape from dehumanizing cruelty into a fellowship that offers an eternal life of freedom and enlightenment.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
In fact, her personal hatred of gripping challenges even served as her Survivor hot take below.—
Dalton Ross,
EW.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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That ecstatic communal experience is a glorious moment of freedom for oppressed people, most of them living hand-to-mouth in an environment of hatred and exploitation.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Liquid biopsies must detect cancer early, differentiate between malignancies and avoid the pitfalls of false positives and negatives.—
Mariya Filipova,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
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Giving performances unsparing in their pitifulness and malignancy, respectively, Robinson and Bennett guide viewers through the jaw-dropping, labyrinthine plot all the way to a haunting ending that contributed to the film being banned in a number of cities across the United States.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
22 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malignance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malignance. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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