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.
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 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.
—
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
-
The vehicles also worsen traffic on Lima’s major thoroughfares, increasing idling by cars and trucks, which are rarely electric.—
Maria Gioia,
The Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2025
-
Just as a yellow cab turned right into the intersection, the idling truck inched forward, seemingly preparing for a wide right turn onto E. 169th St., the video shows.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
3 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
When he himself isn’t bummed out, Scott Avett (who flew to New York to be with the cast and crew during its final week) remains philosophical.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
21 Jan. 2025
-
Expecting to see spikes in seasonal affective disorder, Dr. Leibowitz was shocked to learn that Nordic people weren’t all that bummed out by the long, dark, and extreme winters.—
Julia Ries,
SELF,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Don’t be fooled by its cheery name: Happy Face looks haunting.—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
27 Jan. 2025
-
In other words, an attacker would need to fool all or nearly all nodes to remain hidden—which quickly becomes infeasible as more light nodes join.—
Ayush Gupta,
Forbes,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Add in a high lottery pick (don’t worry, Raptors fans, Ingram isn’t good enough or healthy enough to mess that up), and their top six salaries alone will push the team to the tax line for a squad that on paper will be fighting for the Play-In.—
John Hollinger,
The Athletic,
12 Feb. 2025
-
Almost all these variants messed a little too much with the careful balance of simplicity, readability, reasoning, and luck that made the original Minesweeper so addictive.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
10 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near malinger
Cite this Entry
“Malinger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malinger. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share