malevolent
adjective
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On the Origin of Malevolent
That malevolent begins with male- does not imply any connection with gender. The word's initial component comes ultimately from the Latin adverb male "badly"; English male "a man or a boy," by contrast, descends from the unrelated Latin noun masculus "male." Malevolent was taken into English directly from the Latin malevolens "ill-disposed, spiteful," which paired male with volens, the present participle of a verb meaning "to wish." In Latin, the combination literally meant "wishing ill." The "wishing" component of malevolent may also be found in its antonym benevolent "kind and generous" (from Latin benevolens, literally, "wishing well") and in a rare English word, somnivolency ("a sleep-inducing agent"), in which it is yoked with somni- "sleep" (from Latin somnus) in a compound literally meaning "inclination to sleep."
Synonyms
Examples of malevolent in a Sentence
Douglas A. Blackmon, Slavery By Another Name, 2008
The sky looks heavy enough to sink and crush us when we see another twister bullying across the fields—a squat, malevolent-looking wedge.
—Priit J. Vesilind, National Geographic, April 2004
No bigger than most house cats, it is possessed of such formidable armor and malevolent mien that when the makers of the latest Godzilla epic went looking for a prototype, they selected this lizard …
—Peter Benchley, National Geographic, April 1999
The predominant spirit is very un-American; a kind of malevolent, drifting determinism pervades human beings who cannot, or do not want to, cope.
—John Fowles, Atlantic, August 1986
the novel grossly oversimplified the conflict as a struggle between relentlessly malevolent villains on one side and faultless saints on the other
Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024
What follows is a terrifying journey as the Lamberts, with the help of Elise and her crew, come up against malevolent spirits, uncover dark family secrets, and race against time to rescue Dalton.
—Kelsey Lentz, People.com, 20 Oct. 2024
Once again written and directed by Parker Finn, the film follows a malevolent spirit that jumps hosts via a diabolical grin, this time infecting a troubled pop star (Naomi Scott) with a ton of trauma to feed on, according to The Hollywood Reporter‘s review of the film.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2024
Unbeknownst to Rose, the patient in her death passed on to her a malevolent invisible force that only seems to manifest as visions of people flashing maniacal smiles at her.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Malevolent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malevolent. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
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malevolent
adjective
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