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.
  1. tending to produce death, as bubonic plague.
  2. (of a tumor) characterized by uncontrolled growth; cancerous, invasive, or metastatic.

Origin of malignant

1535–45; < Late Latin malignant- (stem of malignāns), present participle of malignāre to act maliciously. See malign, -ant

SYNONYMS FOR malignant

1 spiteful, malevolent.
2 perilous, hurtful, pernicious.

ANTONYMS FOR malignant

1–3 benign.

OTHER WORDS FROM malignant

Words nearby malignant

malice aforethought, malicious, malicious mischief, malign, malignancy, malignant, malignant anemia, malignant bubo, malignant ciliary epithelioma, malignant dyskeratosis, malignant fibrous histiocytoma

Example sentences from the Web for non-malignant

British Dictionary definitions for non-malignant (1 of 2)

non-malignant
/ (ˌnɒnməˈlɪɡnənt) /

adjective

(of a tumour) not uncontrollable or resistant to therapy

British Dictionary definitions for non-malignant (2 of 2)

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, adverb

Word Origin for malignant

C16: from Late Latin malīgnāre to behave spitefully, from Latin malīgnus malign

Medical definitions for non-malignant

malignant
[ mə-lĭg′nənt ]

adj.

Threatening to life, as a disease; virulent.
Tending to metastasize; cancerous. Used of a tumor.

Scientific definitions for non-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 non-malignant

malignant

A descriptive term for things or conditions that threaten life or well-being. Malignant is the opposite of benign.

notes for malignant

The term malignant is used in describing cancerous tumors ( see cancer) because such growths are a threat to the health of the individual.

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.”