malign
To make defamatory statements aboutTo make defamatory statements about; to slander or traduce.
» George III has been unfairly maligned by historians.
Georg III. wurde von Historikern zu Unrecht schlechtgemacht. — Yorwba
CM · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(transitive)To make defamatory statements about; to slander or traduce.
schlechtmachen, verleumden, lästern
лихословитиlyxoslovyty
(archaic, transitive)To treat with malice; to show hatred toward; to abuse; to wrong.
- speak unfavorably about
Examples
2 sentencesGeorge III has been unfairly maligned by historians.
deGeorg III. wurde von Historikern zu Unrecht schlechtgemacht. — Yorwba
Tom's boss is much-maligned, but Tom's always found him reasonable.
Translations
4 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English maligne, from Old French maligne, from Latin malignus, from malus (“baFrom Middle English maligne, from Old French maligne, from Latin malignus, from malus (“bad”) + genus (“sort, kind”). Compare benign.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
maligns, maligning, maligned, malignedSynonyms
65 synonyms- speak unfavorably about:badmouthtraducedrag through the mud
Word family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle