The plain malice definition is the wish or intention to hurt, harm or upset someone, usually on purpose and without good reason. A classmate who hides your project the night before it is due, just to see you fail, is acting out of malice.
Malice is about the motive behind an action, not only the action. The same broken window can be an accident or an act of malice, depending on whether someone meant to cause damage. That focus on intent is also why the word matters so much in law.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Desire or intention to cause harmPart of speech
Noun (usually uncountable)Pronunciation
MAL-issWord forms
malicious (adjective), maliciously (adverb), maliciousnessOrigin
Old French malice, from Latin malitia, "badness", from malus, "bad"; in English from the 1300sOpposite
goodwill, kindness, benevolenceRegister
Neutral; also a legal term
Malice definition for everyday speech
A working definition of malice for ordinary talk: it is ill will that wants something bad to happen to another person. It can be loud, like a cruel rumour spread to ruin a reputation, or quiet, like a smile while someone else trips. Key features:
- It is intentional: the person means to cause pain or loss.
- It is personal: aimed at someone, not at a problem.
- It often has no fair reason: envy, spite or pleasure in another's trouble.
People often say "no malice intended" or "there was no malice in it" to stress that harm was accidental.
Examples using malice
- The comment hurt, but I honestly think she said it without malice.
- Investigators found the fire was set with clear malice, not caused by faulty wiring.
- He has a sharp tongue but no real malice toward anyone.
- The fake reviews were posted maliciously to damage the bakery's business.
- There was a flash of malice in his grin as he revealed the secret.
Malice in law
Courts use malice in technical ways that do not always match everyday meaning:
- Malice aforethought is the mental state that, in many common law systems, separates murder from lesser forms of homicide. It covers intent to kill or seriously injure, and can also be implied from extreme recklessness toward human life. Despite the word aforethought, it does not always require long planning.
- Actual malice is a standard in United States defamation law for public figures. It means publishing a false statement while knowing it is false or with reckless disregard for whether it is true. Spite or hatred alone is not what the term measures.
- Malicious prosecution is starting a legal case without good grounds and for an improper purpose.
In these settings, ill feeling may not need to be proven at all; what counts is intent or reckless disregard.
Where malice comes from
Speakers of fourteenth century English took malice from French, whose word traced back to Latin malitia, meaning badness or wickedness. The root is malus, bad, which also gives English words such as malignant, malevolent and malfunction. The legal phrase malice aforethought joins it with aforethought, an old word meaning "thought of beforehand".
Malice and words that look similar
| Term | Contrast |
|---|---|
| malice | The wish or intent to cause harm |
| spite | Petty desire to annoy or hurt, often small scale |
| animosity | Strong dislike or hostility, without necessarily wanting harm |
| malevolence | A wider, deeper wish for evil to others; more formal |
| malignant | Harmful and likely to spread, often in medicine |
Its opposite is goodwill, or the kind spirit described on the benevolent page.
Using malice and malicious correctly
Malice is a noun, so you act with malice, out of malice or without malice, and you bear malice toward someone. For the describing word, use malicious: a malicious lie, malicious gossip, malicious software. Do not say "a malice comment". In computing, malicious software, shortened to malware, is code written to damage or spy on devices. Words about motives and moods gather in people and feelings.
Frequently asked questions
Can you define malice in a few words?
Malice is wanting to hurt someone, or doing something harmful on purpose. It describes the bad intention behind an act.
What does malice aforethought mean?
It is a legal phrase for the state of mind that makes a killing murder in many common law systems. It takes in a plan to take a life or to injure badly, and sometimes extreme recklessness toward life.
Malice or spite: which is worse?
Both involve wanting to hurt someone. Spite is usually petty and small, like ruining a joke, while malice can be serious and planned.
Can you show malice without meaning to?
In everyday speech, no, because malice involves intent. In law, malice can sometimes be implied from reckless behaviour even when the person did not plan a specific harm.
Which adjective comes from malice?
The adjective is malicious, and the adverb is maliciously. A malicious rumour is one spread to cause harm.
How do you pronounce malice?
Say MAL-iss. Stress the opening beat, which rhymes with pal.