malevolent C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /məˈlɛvələnt/ UK /məˈlɛvələnt/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj wishing harm or evil to others; full of ill will A malevolent grin crossed the villain's face as the trap sprang shut. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · wishing harm or evil to... maliciousspitefulmalignhostilevenomousbalefulvindictive ↔ Opposites benevolentkindbenignwell-meaning Word family Derived forms malevolentlymalevolence Related forms benevolentmalicemalign Etymology AI details From Latin malevolens (stem malevolent-) ('wishing evil'), from male ('badly') + volens ('wishing'), present participle of velle ('to wish, want'). malevolens Latin male Middle English velle Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # malevolent **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /məˈlɛvələnt/ **IPA (UK):** /məˈlɛvələnt/ ## Meanings 1. wishing harm or evil to others; full of ill will ## Examples - A malevolent grin crossed the villain's face as the trap sprang shut. ## Synonyms - malicious - spiteful - malign - hostile - venomous - baleful - vindictive ## Antonyms - benevolent - kind - benign - well-meaning ## Derived Forms - malevolently - malevolence ## Related Forms - benevolent - malice - malign ## Roots and Affixes - Root: malevolens - Root: male - Root: velle ## Etymology From Latin malevolens (stem malevolent-) ('wishing evil'), from male ('badly') + volens ('wishing'), present participle of velle ('to wish, want'). ## AI Etymology Malevolent comes from Latin malevolens (stem malevolent-) ('wishing evil'), from male ('badly') + volens ('wishing'), present participle of velle ('to wish, want'). The etymological trail includes Latin malevolens, Latin male, Latin velle. The same word family includes malevolently, malevolence, benevolent, malice, malign. Its current adjective use means "wishing harm or evil to others; full of ill will". ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown