malicious
muh-LISH-us
/məˈlɪʃ.əs/
Intending or intended to do harm; characterized by malice.
Broadly covers deliberate harm, legal intent to injure, or harmful digital code.
The story behind the word. Inherited from Latin 'malitia' (badness or ill will), coming from 'malus' (bad). It entered Anglo-Norman French before becoming a core legal and general term in English.
Word relationships
- spiteful: Spiteful focuses on petty annoyance; malicious covers both serious legal/physical harm and digital damage.
- malevolent: Malevolent reflects an evil disposition; malicious reflects active intent to cause harm.
- harmless: Not able or likely to cause damage.
- well-intentioned: Having good motives despite actual results.
Commonly confused with
- malignant: Malignant usually refers to harmful medical conditions; malicious refers to harmful intentions.
Word family
- malice (noun): The desire to cause pain or distress.
- maliciously (adverb): In a malicious manner.
Collocations
- malicious intent
- malicious software
- malicious prosecution
Idioms & expressions
- with malice aforethought
Example sentences
- "The firewall blocked malicious attacks aimed at extracting sensitive customer data." Cybersecurity
- "The court ruled that the defamation was published with malicious intent." Legal proceedings
Memory hook
Malicious code or malicious intent always causes MAL (bad) consequences. Mal = Bad; Malicious = Deliberately bad intent.
When not to use
Do not use for well-meaning actions that result in accidental damage.
Fun facts
- In legal terminology, 'malice aforethought' is the required mental state for first-degree murder.
Related words
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