mal-, male-, mali-
(Latin: bad, badly, harsh, wrong; ill; evil; abnormal, defective; used primarily as a prefix)
This combining form has no etymological connection to "male", meaning "man" or "masculine"; despite what some women may think.
The doing of mischief, evil, or harm: The secret diary of the criminal recounted the repeated maleficences which he had committed.
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maleficent (adjective), more maleficent, most maleficent
1. Relating to things and spiritual agencies which bring harm to others: Some people believe that there are evil spirits that cause maleficent agony and misfortune for people.
2. A reference to people, their acts and dispositions; such as, wrongdoing, criminal acts, etc.: The politician was convicted of obtaining maleficent funding from various organizations so she could be reelected and give them advantages in paying less taxes for their profitable businesses.
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2. A reference to people, their acts and dispositions; such as, wrongdoing, criminal acts, etc.: The politician was convicted of obtaining maleficent funding from various organizations so she could be reelected and give them advantages in paying less taxes for their profitable businesses.
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1. A misunderstanding; a mistake or a wrong interpretation: Betty, you had a malentendu when you thought you had free use of Joe's images for your website.
2. Etymology: from French mal entendu, "misunderstood"; from mal, "badly"; from Latin male "bad" + entendu, past participle of entendre, "to understand".
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2. Etymology: from French mal entendu, "misunderstood"; from mal, "badly"; from Latin male "bad" + entendu, past participle of entendre, "to understand".
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Being illegal; the wishing or the cause of bad things happening to others; ill-will, malice, spitefulness: The malevolence of gas attacks on its citizens is considered absolutely one of the worst things that the regime of the country could do.
malevolent (adjective), more malevolent, most malevolent
Pertaining to an individual who attempts destructive activities or exerts an evil influence: The more malevolent prisoners tried to incite a riot by using all of their most hateful comments and misinformation to provoke others to rebel against the prison guards.
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The author of the crime novels described a malevolent character who often committed heinous crimes under the guise of being a kindly old neighbor.
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malevolently (adverb), more malevolently, most malevolently
Relating to doing painful things to other people or wanting to harm them: The malevolently looking face of the insane man was marked with scars as he looked around the corner to choose the next victim he would attack.
Sinfulness, wrongdoing, or vileness; specifically, official misconduct on the part of someone in public employment: The mayor of the city was convicted of three counts of malfeasance involving illegal financial payments which happened during his first term.
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Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.
That which is misshapen or distorted: In literature, a malform is often depicted as a dark image which is wrapped in dark robes with its face turned away from the light.
Surprisingly the malform that the artist created, and which was about to be thrown away, was declared the winner in the sculpture contest.
malform (verb), malforms; malformed; malforming
To shape or to configure in an unacceptable way: The artist malformed his sculptures so they would resemble nonexistent creatures.
Faulty structure of parts; especially, of a living body: Sam was born with a malformation that resulted in his right foot being twisted in such a way that it pointed inwardly.
malformed (adjective), more malformed, most malformed
1. Badly misshaped or distorted: In the children's section at the agricultural fair, prizes were given to the most malformed vegetables; for example, a carrot with two legs or roots.
2. Referring to a situation in which someone does not adhere to a proper procedure: Mack accidentally constructed more malformed web pages than he realized.
2. Referring to a situation in which someone does not adhere to a proper procedure: Mack accidentally constructed more malformed web pages than he realized.
Faultiness, abnormality, or an inadequate ability to function: The malfunction of the brakes in the car was considered to be the cause of Sam's accident, but fortunately no one was badly injured.
malfunction (verb), malfunctions; malfunctioned; malfunctioning
To fail to work properly or normally; usually, because of a fault or a bad design: Because of the sounds of the clanking under the hood of the car, the mechanic determined that the pistons were malfunctioning and needed to be repaired or replaced.
malfunctioning (adjective), more malfunctioning, most malfunctioning
Relating to a faulty performance or referring to some device that is not able to work as it should: Joe had some malfunctioning software which made it necessary for him to get a computer expert to help him solve the problems.
mali exempli (Latin statement)
Translation: "Of bad example; of bad precedent."
Smoking while standing under a NO SMOKING sign, is a mali exempli behavior!
Inter-related cross references, directly or indirectly, involving word units meaning "bad, wrong": caco-, kako-; dys-; mis-; pessim-; sceler-.
