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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Recent Examples of malevolent
That melody is taken up by a ghostly female choir (mirrored by flute) in this story full of ghosts both malevolent and salvific.
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Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
The biggest confirmation of a malevolent presence happened one day when the couple was downstairs.
—Michelle Mastro, Architectural Digest, 18 Oct. 2024
The Unseelie Court is the bastion of malevolent faeries who harm humans for their amusement or to exact revenge.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
The reveal — that a mad scientist is using a malevolent force to kill people and then bring them back to life — is something straight out of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for malevolent 
Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
The biggest confirmation of a malevolent presence happened one day when the couple was downstairs.
—Michelle Mastro, Architectural Digest, 18 Oct. 2024
The Unseelie Court is the bastion of malevolent faeries who harm humans for their amusement or to exact revenge.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
The reveal — that a mad scientist is using a malevolent force to kill people and then bring them back to life — is something straight out of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for malevolent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malevolent
Adjective
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Four vulnerabilities in WebKit were fixed in iOS 18.2, allowing memory corruption if you were persuaded to interact with malicious web content.Kate O'Flaherty, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
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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.Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, Fox News, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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That was confirmed by his patron in Moscow, which supported the regime in crushing what started as a peaceful protest movement during the Arab Spring and became a vicious civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and sparked a refugee crisis.Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 9 Dec. 2024
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Its main proxy, Hezbollah, was crippled by a pager attack on its hierarchy, and then by weeks of vicious airstrikes.Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 7 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Snape is the cruel but complex potions master at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, played by Alan Rickman in all seven Harry Potter films.Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
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The season two scoop: A cruel winter brings new challenges and unfinished business to Jacob (Ford) and Cara (Mirren) back at Dutton ranch.Marc Berman, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The Center for Countering Digital Hate recently said that X failed to remove nearly 86% of 300 hateful posts a week after the organization reported them.Thomas Brewster, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
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Finally, there’s the late-to-the-party Johnny (Christopher Sears), a free-spirited recovering heroin addict who brings along his fellow 12-stepper Loren (Barbie Ferreira), the outsider and truth-teller whose appalled at the hateful religious vitriol spewed by Diana.Greg Evans, Deadline, 12 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near malevolent
Cite this Entry
“Malevolent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malevolent. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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