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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
The reliably malevolent Magisterium sends agents to look for the rose garden too, as part of its general anti-Dust policy.
—
Lev Grossman, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2025
The movie subsequently gave its monsters a more secular origin story, the spawn of science run amok rather than some malevolent force of evil.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 21 Oct. 2025
Ultimately, Finn and Gwen take a trip to Alpine Lake to investigate the camp, and that’s where The Grabber’s malevolent spirit seeks his revenge.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025
From her first visit to the Rue de Fleurus, Dodge had considered Toklas a malevolent presence in the household.
—Via Scribner, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malevolent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malevolent
Adjective
-
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
-
And at the heart of the series was the parasitic dynamic between Pine and his delightfully malicious foe, an arms dealer named Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).—
Adjective
-
Officials charged Damon Leanord of Pleasanton, Kansas, with interference with law enforcement, having a vicious dog at large and criminal desecration of a body in Linn County and abandonment of a corpse charges in Bates County, Missouri, after finding the child’s body at the bottom of a creek bed.—
-
He was shocked in 2013 when he was struck by vicious bouts of vomiting.—
Adjective
-
The forest had taught him that city dwellers could often be regulated by cruel and rather unpredictable codes.—
-
That Maduro is a cruel dictator is clear; that Trump intends more than just his arrest (such as taking their oil) is equally clear.—
Adjective
-
Thompson, meanwhile, savors every contemptuous glare and hateful retort Anna regularly supplies.—
-
At best, both Labour and the Conservatives have spent political capital on an activist who has repeatedly expressed thoughtless and hateful views in public.—
Cite this Entry
“Malevolent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malevolent. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share