malignant
[ muh-lig-nuhnt ]
/ məˈlɪg nənt /
adjective
disposed to cause harm, suffering, or distress deliberately; feeling or showing ill will or hatred.
very dangerous or harmful in influence or effect.
Pathology.
- tending to produce death, as bubonic plague.
- (of a tumor) characterized by uncontrolled growth; cancerous, invasive, or metastatic.
Origin of malignant
SYNONYMS FOR malignant
OTHER WORDS FROM malignant
Words nearby malignant
Example sentences from the Web for malignant
British Dictionary definitions for malignant
malignant
/ (məˈlɪɡnənt) /
adjective
having or showing desire to harm others
tending to cause great harm; injurious
pathol
(of a tumour) uncontrollable or resistant to therapy; rapidly spreading
noun
history (in the English Civil War) a Parliamentarian term for a royalist (def. 1)
Derived forms of malignant
malignantly, adverbWord Origin for malignant
C16: from Late Latin
malīgnāre to behave spitefully, from Latin
malīgnus
malign
Medical definitions for malignant
malignant
[ mə-lĭg′nənt ]
adj.
Threatening to life, as a disease; virulent.
Tending to metastasize; cancerous. Used of a tumor.
Scientific definitions for malignant
malignant
[ mə-lĭg′nənt ]
Tending to have a destructive clinical course, as a malignant illness.
Relating to cancer cells that are invasive and tend to metastasize. Malignant tumor cells are histologically more primitive than normal tissue. Compare benign.
Cultural definitions for malignant
malignant
A descriptive term for things or conditions that threaten life or well-being. Malignant is the opposite of benign.
notes for malignant
notes for malignant
The term is often used in a general way to denote something that is both destructive and fast growing: “The malignant growth of the suburbs is destroying the landscape.”