as in vicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip
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Recent Examples of malicious
The complaint claims retaliation under the First Amendment, malicious arrest and prosecution, and battery.
—
Quinlan Bentley, The Courier-Journal, 19 Dec. 2024
If authorities determine the drones are operated by malicious actors or are involved in intelligence gathering, the department will take action to counter them, the statement said.
—Madison Czopek, Austin American-Statesman, 19 Dec. 2024
Phishing Protection Malware exists to rake in cash for its creators, but writing malicious code to get past modern antivirus tools isn’t a feat for amateurs.
—PCMAG, 17 Dec. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for malicious 
Quinlan Bentley, The Courier-Journal, 19 Dec. 2024
If authorities determine the drones are operated by malicious actors or are involved in intelligence gathering, the department will take action to counter them, the statement said.
—Madison Czopek, Austin American-Statesman, 19 Dec. 2024
Phishing Protection Malware exists to rake in cash for its creators, but writing malicious code to get past modern antivirus tools isn’t a feat for amateurs.
—PCMAG, 17 Dec. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for malicious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malicious
Adjective
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But the blaze was the latest manifestation of a vicious cycle in which flammable invasive grasses are choking out fire-resistant vegetation in the Santa Monica Mountains.Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024
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The vicious gang has taken advantage of a lax southern border under the Biden-Harris administration, with many of its foot soldiers swarming the U.S. and unleashing hell on unsuspecting communities.Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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By the time Lovely Runner’s series finale dropped in late May, millions of K-drama fans around the world had become invested in the story of Sol and Sun-jae, desperate to find out if their love could withstand the cruel vagaries of fate.Kayti Burt, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024
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The gods prove cruel but not omnipotent, and the modern settings exert their own redemptive pull; the final effect is that of a magic trick, in which the characters manage, in each film’s miraculous closing moments, to slip the bonds of tragedy.Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Each forfeiture announcement unleashed appalling, hateful messages individuals chose to send directly to our student-athletes, our coaching staff and many associated with our program.Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 20 Dec. 2024
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Its members have faced hateful comments, unfair criticism and privacy breaches that have threatened their mental health.Gabriel Saulog, Billboard, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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At its simplest, while tracking cookies are a nasty underpin to the internet, they can be seen and controlled, whether by those website popups or electing to use some form of private browsing that blocks such cookies altogether.Zak Doffman, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
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But the only bacteria raw or pasteurized milk contain are the nasty kind—salmonella, campylobacter and the like, according to the FDA.Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The Dead Zone maintains key big-picture threads from the book and movie — the malevolent rising-star politician, the apocalyptic portent — while taking advantage of its format, succeeding as both a procedural and a long-term story.Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2024
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Imagine that kind of malevolent connection operating in the Senate.Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Biden has the historic opportunity to spare countless Americans from the fear of retaliation by a spiteful bully.Pierce O'Donnell, The Mercury News, 12 Dec. 2024
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Also, Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose memorably spiteful villain is an IMAX-sized testament to the late actor’s talent.David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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She’s also undergone 30 cryogenic lung ablations—a procedure in which a radiologist uses a needle-like probe to freeze malignant tumors off the lungs.Julia Ries, SELF, 4 Dec. 2024
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While the diverse kinds of grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services or Energy Department loan programs may not immediately seem representative of the sub-regulatory decrees that irk industry, increasingly the malignant materiality and significance of grants deserve more attention.Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near malicious
Cite this Entry
“Malicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malicious. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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