malign adj

1 evil or harmful in nature or influence; "prompted by malign motives"; "believed in witches and malign spirits"; "gave him a malign look"; "a malign lesion" [ant: benign]

2 having or exerting a malignant influence; "malevolent stars"; "a malefic force" [syn: malefic, malevolent, evil] v : speak unfavorably about; "She badmouthes her husband everywhere" [syn: badmouth, traduce, drag through the mud]

English

Pronunciation

• /məˈlaɪn/
• /m@"laIn/

Adjective

1. evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.
2. malevolent.
   • 1891 - Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

     He was sure they [the stars] were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign significance.

Translations

* German: unheilvoll* German: böse, übelwollend

Verb

1. To make false defamatory statements about someone.

See also

• malignant

Malignant (from the Latin roots mal- = "bad" and -genus = "born") is a medical term used to describe a severe and progressively worsening disease. The term is most familiar as a description of cancer. A malignant tumor may be contrasted with a non-cancerous benign tumor in that a malignancy is not self-limited in its growth, is capable of invading into adjacent tissues, and may be capable of spreading to distant tissues (metastasizing), while a benign tumor has none of those properties. Uses of "malignant" in oncology:

• Malignancy, malignant neoplasm, and malignant tumor are synonymous with cancer
• Malignant ascites
• Malignant transformation

Non-oncologic disorders referred to as "malignant":

• Malignant hypertension
• Malignant hyperthermia
• Malignant otitis externa
• Malignant tertian malaria (Malaria caused specifically by Plasmodium falciparum)
• Neuroleptic malignant syndrome''

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