malevolence

English

WOTD – 12 August 2006

Etymology

From Middle French malevolence, from Latin malevolentia (malevolence), derived from malevolēns (malevolent).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /məˈlɛvələns/
  • Audio (General Australian):(file)

Noun

malevolence (countable and uncountable, plural malevolences)

  1. Hostile attitude or feeling.
    to show someone malevolence
    He said it with malevolence.
    • 2023 July 5, Murtada Elfadl, “Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One review: Tom Cruise runs, jumps, and delivers again”, in AV Club[1]:
      Esai Morales appears as the enforcer for “the entity‘’ and brings such simmering malevolence to the character that he should have been the villain instead.
  2. Behavior exhibiting a hostile attitude.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *welh₁- (0 c, 16 e)

Translations