malinger

[ muh-ling-ger ]
/ məˈlɪŋ gər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR malinger ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to pretend illness, especially in order to shirk one's duty, avoid work, etc.

Origin of malinger

1810–20; < French malingre sickly, ailing, equivalent to mal- mal- + Old French heingre haggard (perhaps < Gmc)

OTHER WORDS FROM malinger

ma·lin·ger·er, noun

Words nearby malinger

malik, maliki, malimprinted, malinda, malines, malinger, malinke, malinovsky, malinowski, malinterdigitation, malipiero

Words related to malinger

dodge, shirk, fake, loaf, sham

Example sentences from the Web for malinger

  • "Sheep," who has been disposed to malinger, is the worst of the lot.

    Adventures in Alaska |Samuel Hall Young

  • One, of course, can readily see with what facility an individual of the type under discussion could malinger mental symptoms.

    Studies in Forensic Psychiatry |Bernard Glueck

  • It was quick work; but Bowles had a college education—he had been only six hours a cowboy when he learned to malinger on the job.

    Bat Wing Bowles |Dane Coolidge

  • No man ever essayed to malinger or to shirk a duty to which he had been allotted by the doctor.

    Sixteen Months in Four German Prisons |Henry Charles Mahoney

British Dictionary definitions for malinger

malinger
/ (məˈlɪŋɡə) /

verb

(intr) to pretend or exaggerate illness, esp to avoid work

Derived forms of malinger

malingerer, noun

Word Origin for malinger

C19: from French malingre sickly, perhaps from mal badly + Old French haingre feeble

Medical definitions for malinger

malinger
[ mə-lĭng′gər ]

v.

To feign illness or other incapacity in order to avoid duty or work.