as in to lazy
to pretend to be sick or injured in order to avoid doing work
Because of his frequent absences, his boss suspected he was malingering.
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Recent Examples of malinger
The entire day felt dehumanizing, as if her nearly eight years with the company, her medical problems and her physical pain had been reduced to nothing more than malingering and scattered incidents of tardiness.
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Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 2023
Goldstein, who did not return a message seeking comment, practices in Chicago and has lectured on the topic of malingering, according to a resume posted online.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
But when workers take advantage of the manager’s kindly nature to malinger or disrupt operations, the entire business is threatened.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2022
The decision against Robert Krebs came after a psychologist determined Krebs didn’t have a mental illness or cognitive impairment and was instead malingering to avoid prosecution for the robbery last year in Tucson.
—Jacques Billeaud, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2019
On Monday, prosecutor Stuart Silberg said Ms. Ortega could have been malingering, or faking her psychiatric state.
—Corinne Ramey, WSJ, 31 July 2017
The question is obviously especially consequential when deeming a person malingering means they could be put to death.
—James Hamblin, The Atlantic, 5 May 2017
Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 2023
Goldstein, who did not return a message seeking comment, practices in Chicago and has lectured on the topic of malingering, according to a resume posted online.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
But when workers take advantage of the manager’s kindly nature to malinger or disrupt operations, the entire business is threatened.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2022
The decision against Robert Krebs came after a psychologist determined Krebs didn’t have a mental illness or cognitive impairment and was instead malingering to avoid prosecution for the robbery last year in Tucson.
—Jacques Billeaud, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2019
On Monday, prosecutor Stuart Silberg said Ms. Ortega could have been malingering, or faking her psychiatric state.
—Corinne Ramey, WSJ, 31 July 2017
The question is obviously especially consequential when deeming a person malingering means they could be put to death.
—James Hamblin, The Atlantic, 5 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malinger
Verb
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Cargo freighters and cruise ships, for instance, are often unable to connect to a port's electrical grid and must instead idle, relying on their onboard generators powered by massive diesel engines, which can lead to significant emissions and pollution.Leah Carroll, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
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Soon after the spill, Exxon Mobil halted operations at its three offshore oil platforms while Plains All American Pipeline idled the connected pipelines.Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Sorry to bum you out, but that’s not gonna happen anymore.Nate Jones, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2024
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If you’re bummed that Amazon Prime Big Deal Days is over, don’t worry.Ali Faccenda, People.com, 12 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Your partner is either fooling himself or attempting to fool you.R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 4 Nov. 2024
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Fischer, who played the paper company's receptionist Pam (until she was promoted), explained that creator Greg Daniels even filmed a fake version of the episode to fool them.Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Why risk messing that up because of a tiny screen? About the Author More Stories Coke, Twinkies, Skittles, and … Whole-Grain Bread?Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2024
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This feels like a confirmation that Ellie was partly to blame for messing the laundry up before, even if unintentionally.Emma Soren, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near malinger
Cite this Entry
“Malinger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malinger. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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