Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MALEVOLENT
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connect this word to others:
For any new subscribers: I promise I don't start every issue with a diagram made in Microsoft Paint.
But check this out.
I've plotted four synonyms, including our word malevolent, on the line below, with the rare and emphatic words toward the left, and the common and clear words toward the right:
Here's how I see things.
When it comes to word choice, there's always this delicate trade-off between emphasis and clarity.
We can scoot to the left on that spectrum, ramping up the emphasis with words that are strange and rare, like "miasmatic"--but at the expense of clarity. In the worst case, our listeners have no idea what we just said, and now they're mad at us for making them feel dumb. We've lost them.
Or we can scoot to the right, ramping up the clarity with words that are very common, like "evil"--but at the expense of emphasis. In the worst case, our listeners hear what we said as one monotonous chant. They don't know what words or phrases deserve more attention than others, so they pay no attention whatsoever. We've lost them.
This is why I love words in the middle: the ones that are rare enough to capture attention without confusion, like "n_f_rious," and the ones that are common enough to be clear without fading into the background, like "malevolent."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"MALEVOLENT"
This word has Latin roots that literally mean "bad-wishing."
Malevolent people and things are evil or harmful toward others.
Pronunciation:
muh LEV uh lunt
Part of speech:
Adjective: "malevolent hackers," "the presence they sensed was malevolent."
Other forms:
malevolence, malevolently
How to use it:
The word "malevolent" is fantastically useful. It's common enough to be understood easily and emphatic enough to express a profound evil or meanness. When you're startled and disturbed by how people actually want to inflict pain on others, call them malevolent.
Talk about malevolent people, real or fictional; malevolent faces and sneers; malevolent deeds and intentions; malevolent atmospheres, etc.
Or, talk about malevolent feelings, attitudes, creations, or actions: a malevolent disgust, a malevolent scrutiny, a malevolent policy that makes the poor poorer and then shames them for seeking help.
To get abstract, talk about malevolent cancers, viruses, forces, powers, presences, etc. Here's Shakespeare: "the malevolence of fortune."
examples:
"My work could charitably be described as sloppy... Stitches dropped themselves and later appeared at random so that the long striped scarf I was knitting bulged in the middle like a python after dining on a rabbit. I fancied that a malevolent Rumpelstiltskin crept into my room at night and undid my best work..."
— Jacqueline Kelly, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, 2011
Writing for The Guardian, Charles Bramesco catalogued the endless popularity of SpongeBob SquarePants, noting how every human emotion has taken form in a SpongeBob meme, including malevolence:
has this page helped you understand "malevolent"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "malevolent" without saying "hateful" or "wicked."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "Although (something is appealing in some way), (it, or some part of it) is a malevolent (type of thing)."
Example 1: "Although the paths around the farm are beautiful, their tall grasses are a malevolent universe of spiders, chiggers, and ticks."
Example 2: "Although Venus is a beautiful orb at a distance, presiding over the horizon as the brilliant morning or evening star, up close and personal it is an environmentally malevolent world. 'Hellish' is the word that is usually offered to describe its surface conditions..."
— Michael J. Battaglia, Scientific American, 29 November 2011
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
This month, we're playing Name Those Synonyms!
We're enjoying the gracefully written, ultra-authoritative explanations in Funk & Wagnalls Standard Handbook of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions. In each issue, check out the passage from the book, and see if you can figure out which synonyms are being distinguished.
And for an extra challenge, starting tomorrow, see if you can recall the fine differences you read about recently.
From the previous issue: What two synonyms (<1> and <2>) does the Handbook distinguish below?
"To <1> any event or occasion is to make some demonstration of respect or rejoicing because of or in memory of it, or to perform such public rites or ceremonies as it properly demands. We <1> the birth, <2> the death of one beloved or honored. We <1> a national anniversary with music and song, with firing of guns and ringing of bells; we <2> by any solemn and thoughtful service, or by a monument or other enduring memorial. We keep the Sabbath, observe an anniversary; we <1> or observe the Lord's Supper in which believers <2> the sufferings and death of Christ."
Answers:
<1> is "celebrate."
<2> is "commemorate."
Try this today: What two synonyms (<1> and <2>) does the Handbook distinguish below? (They are distinguished first from each other, then distinguished from the words "amusements," "pastimes," and "diversions.")
"<1> and <2> imply thought and mental occupation, though in an agreeable, refreshing way; they are therefore words of a high order. <1>, apart from its special senses of a public performance or a social party, and predominantly even there, is used of somewhat mirthful mental delight; <2> may, and usually does, combine the mental with the physical. Amusement and pastime are nearly equivalent, the latter probably the lighter word; many diversions may be pastimes which we should hardly dignify by the name of amusements."
review this word:
1. The exact opposite of MALEVOLENT is BENEVOLENT.
But a close opposite of MALEVOLENT is
A. WEAK-WILLED.
B. WARM-HEARTED.
C. WILLING AND ABLE.
2. Playing the _____, he oozes malevolence.
A. villain
B. narrator
C. comedic relief
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
For any new subscribers: I promise I don't start every issue with a diagram made in Microsoft Paint.
Here's how I see things. This word has Latin roots that literally mean "bad-wishing."
"My work could charitably be described as sloppy... Stitches dropped themselves and later appeared at random so that the long striped scarf I was knitting bulged in the middle like a python after dining on a rabbit. I fancied that a malevolent Rumpelstiltskin crept into my room at night and undid my best work..."
Explain the meaning of "malevolent" without saying "hateful" or "wicked."
Fill in the blanks: "Although (something is appealing in some way), (it, or some part of it) is a malevolent (type of thing)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. The exact opposite of MALEVOLENT is BENEVOLENT.
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