malevolent

adjective

mə-ˈle-və-lənt How to pronounce malevolent (audio)
Definition of malevolentnext
as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it the novel grossly oversimplified the conflict as a struggle between relentlessly malevolent villains on one side and faultless saints on the other

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of malevolent Today the danger is swarms of malevolent AI agents, the CEOs in question run frontier labs, and legal niggling risks holding up an urgent safety conversation. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 17 Sep. 2026 If only professional old salt Wyck (Stephen Root) would quit with the doomsday prophecies about the fog being a sign of the island waking from malevolent slumber. — Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026 Erika looks on with the malevolent bemusement of a college cheerleader coming back to homecoming to judge her old high school squad. — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026 In other cases Hoodoo was used to counter the threat of curses, as in the practice of suspending bottles from a tree to trap any malevolent spirits or witches traveling in spirit form. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for malevolent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malevolent
  1. malicious
  2. vicious
  3. cruel
  4. hateful
Adjective
  • The malicious system component silently installs apps that look like weather tools, app lockers and other everyday utilities.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation also warned that malicious actors could exploit the vulnerabilities to execute code remotely, putting sensitive data and networks at risk.
    — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of malicious
Adjective
  • The vicious cycle of the current model, of course, is that to become marketable a team needs to get and retain good players, and to do that a school has to spend money, which cycles the whole thing back to the start.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Governments were expected to rescue struggling banks, which held large amounts of sovereign debt, creating a vicious cycle.
    — Jenni Reid,Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of vicious
Adjective
  • Participants fell into their roles a little too well and, after a prisoner rebellion, increasingly cruel forms of punishment from the guards and a number of students suffering mental breakdowns, the experiment was ended on the sixth day.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026
  • But these townswomen — whether the undersexed Bakerwoman (Ella Bruccoleri ) or the prim, cruel busybody the Tailor’s Wife (a deliciously scheming Elizabeth Debicki) — are deeply unhappy with their own lot in life.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • Violent mobs carrying Palestinian flags clashed with police, looted hundreds of stores, and flooded social media with over 1,300 hateful anti-Semitic posts.
    — Staff, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The Illinois High School Association is responding as an investigation continues into hateful comments against Evanston Township High School students who were part of marching band during a football game at the new Ryan Field last week.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of hateful

Browse Nearby Words

malevolence
malevolent
malevolently
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Cite this Entry

“Malevolent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malevolent. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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