Standard Lemma guide

malevolence

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /məˈlɛvələns/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Hostile attitude or feeling.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • to show someone malevolence
  • He said it with malevolence.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Behavior exhibiting a hostile attitude.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the quality of threatening evil

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: malevolency, malice

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: evil, evilness

Narrower terms: cattiness, bitchiness, spite, spitefulness, nastiness, cruelty, cruelness, harshness, beastliness, meanness

4

noun

Meaning 4

wishing evil to others

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: malignity

Antonyms: benevolence

Broader terms: hate, hatred

Narrower terms: maleficence, malice, maliciousness, spite, spitefulness, venom, vindictiveness, vengefulness

History

Etymology

From Middle French malevolence, from Latin malevolentia (“malevolence”), derived from malevolēns (“malevolent”).

Across languages

Translations

47 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: չարակամություն (čʻarakamutʻyun) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Belarusian: варожасць (varóžascʹ) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Belarusian: нядобразычлівасць (njadóbrazyčlivascʹ) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Bulgarian: злоба (zloba) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Bulgarian: неприязън (neprijazǎn) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Catalan: malevolència — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Chinese Mandarin: 敵意 /敌意 (díyì) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Chinese Mandarin: 反感 (fǎngǎn) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Chinese Mandarin: 惡意 /恶意 (èyì) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Dutch: kwaadwil — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Dutch: vijandigheid — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Dutch: moedwil — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Dutch: misgunst — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Dutch: malevolentie — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Finnish: pahantahtoisuus — hostile attitude or feeling
  • French: malveillance — hostile attitude or feeling
  • French: hostilité — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Galician: malevolencia — hostile attitude or feeling
  • German: Böswilligkeit — hostile attitude or feeling
  • German: Missgunst — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Greek: εμπάθεια (empátheia) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Greek: κακοβουλία (kakovoulía) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Greek: μοχθηρία (mochthiría) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Ancient Greek: κᾰκοθῡμίᾱ (kăkothūmíā) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Italian: malevolenza — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Northern Kurdish: bedniyetî — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Northern Kurdish: belakirrî — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Latin: malevolentia — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Lushootseed: sbabibəɬ — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Macedonian: зло́ба (zlóba) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Navajo: iiníziin — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Old English: yfelwillendnes — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Polish: wrogość — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Polish: złowrogość — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Portuguese: malevolência — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Romanian: rea-voință — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Romanian: ostilitate — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Romanian: pizmă — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Russian: злопыха́тельство (zlopyxátelʹstvo) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Russian: недоброжела́тельность (nedobroželátelʹnostʹ) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Russian: вражде́бность (vraždébnostʹ) — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Spanish: malevolencia — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Welsh: malais — hostile attitude or feeling
  • Chinese Mandarin: 敵對行為 /敌对行为 (díduì xíngwéi) — behavior exhibiting a hostile attitude
  • Chinese Mandarin: 敵意行為 /敌意行为 (díyì xíngwéi) — behavior exhibiting a hostile attitude
  • Chinese Mandarin: 對抗行為 /对抗行为 (duìkàng xíngwéi) — behavior exhibiting a hostile attitude
  • Finnish: pahantahtoisuus — behavior exhibiting a hostile attitude
Real reading context

malevolence in complete knowledge articles