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
Compliance watch on netflix Creep Year: 2014 Runtime: 1h 17m
Director: Patrick Brice
Director Patrick Brice draws something fascinating and malevolent out of Mark Duplass in these very low budget horror indies.
—
Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2025
Austria Holiday fiend Krampus may have already gained some notoriety in the U.S. thanks to pop-culture portrayals such as the eponymous 2015 cult holiday horror film, but the malevolent half-goat, half-man anti-Santa traces back to folklore from Austria’s Alpine region.
—Chad De Guzman, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024
Like the song says, friends can like different things from one another, but pretty much everyone loves Sesame Street — well, everyone except David Zaslav, the malevolent, showbiz-hating chairman of Warner Bros. Discovery.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2024
The most vaunted had malevolent aims: the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), a sprawling military R&D enterprise thought to employ as many as 20,000 people.
—Byrichard Stone, science.org, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for malevolent 
Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2025
Austria Holiday fiend Krampus may have already gained some notoriety in the U.S. thanks to pop-culture portrayals such as the eponymous 2015 cult holiday horror film, but the malevolent half-goat, half-man anti-Santa traces back to folklore from Austria’s Alpine region.
—Chad De Guzman, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024
Like the song says, friends can like different things from one another, but pretty much everyone loves Sesame Street — well, everyone except David Zaslav, the malevolent, showbiz-hating chairman of Warner Bros. Discovery.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2024
The most vaunted had malevolent aims: the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), a sprawling military R&D enterprise thought to employ as many as 20,000 people.
—Byrichard Stone, science.org, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for malevolent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malevolent
Adjective
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
Fox News,
15 Feb. 2025
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Maloof is suing the city of Palm Bay, the Palm Bay Police Department and the officer on claims including malicious prosecution and false arrest.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Nashville's Bad Idea is a wine bar and restaurant set in a former Presbyterian church that fell into disrepair after a vicious tornado.—
USA TODAY,
USA TODAY,
13 Feb. 2025
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By the time Hezbollah launched its bombardment of Israel in solidarity with Hamas' vicious attack on Israel, the militant Lebanese organization had managed to build a significant military capability under the nose of UNFIL and was more robust than ever before.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Immigrant advocates call those moves cruel and unnecessary.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
8 Feb. 2025
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The current government’s purposeful misrepresentation and defamation of DEI in such a comprehensively cruel and malicious manner deserves nothing less than personal and communal outrage and resistance.—
Dr. Tony Lux,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The two central characters, a mild bespectacled middle-school geek named Hal and his hateful abusive bully of a twin brother, Bill (both are played by Christian Convery), discover the monkey sealed away in a round box.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2025
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Indeed, Ye advertised his Yeezy website during the 2025 Super Bowl broadcast Sunday (Feb. 9), which aired amid a days-long storm of hateful tweets from the star targeting Jewish people.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
10 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near malevolent
Cite this Entry
“Malevolent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malevolent. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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