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Webster 1913 Edition


Malignant

Ma-lig′nant

,
Noun.
1.
A man of extreme enmity or evil intentions.
Hooker.
2.
(Eng. Hist.)
One of the adherents of
Charles I.
or
Charles II.
; – so called by the opposite party.

Webster 1828 Edition


Malignant

MALIG'NANT

,
Adj.
[L. malignus,maligno, from malus, evil.]
1.
Malicious; having extreme malevolence or enmity; as a malignant heart.
2.
Unpropitious; exerting pernicious influence; as malignant start.
3.
Virulent; as a malignant ulcer.
4.
Dangerous to life; as a malignant fever.
5.
Extremely heinous; as the malignant nature of sin.

MALIG'NANT

,
Noun.
A man of extreme enmity or evil intentions. [Not used.]

Definition 2024


malignant

malignant

English

Adjective

malignant (comparative more malignant, superlative most malignant)

  1. Harmful, malevolent, injurious.
    malignant temper;  malignant revenge;  malignant infection
    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
      “[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes [] . And then, when you see [the senders], you probably find that they are the most melancholy old folk with malignant diseases. […]”
  2. (medicine) Tending to produce death; threatening a fatal issue.
    malignant diphtheria
    a malignant tumor

Antonyms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

malignant (plural malignants)

  1. A deviant; A person who is hostile or destructive to society.
    • 1823, The Retrospective Review (volume 7, page 11)
      As devout Stephen was carried to his burial by devout men, so is it just and equal that malignants should carry malignants []
    • 1999, National Institute of Business Management, Difficult People at Work, ISBN 1880024101, page 8:
      A malignant in a position of real power immediately becomes a tyrant.

Latin

Verb

malignant

  1. third-person plural present active indicative of malignō