verb
malign
muh-LYN
verb
1
To say untrue or unfair things about someone in order to damage their reputation.
"The former employee maligned the company in a series of online posts."
"She felt she had been unfairly maligned by the press."
adj
1
Evil or harmful in nature or intent.
"He described a malign influence spreading through the organization."
How to Use Malign
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAs a verb, to badmouth or slander someone; as an adjective, harmful or evil.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
malign influence
maligned by critics
a malign intent
Word Forms
more malign comparative, maligned past tense, maligns singular, most malign superlative
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Etymology
From Old French maligne, from Latin malignus, formed from malus ("bad") and genus ("kind, sort"). Compare "benign," its opposite.