Malicious

Part of speech: adjective (a.)

1. Indulging or exercising malice; harboring ill will or enmity. I grant him bloody, . . . Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin That has a name. Shak.

2. Proceeding from hatred or ill will; dictated by malice; as, a malicious report; malicious mischief.

3. With wicked or mischievous intentions or motives; wrongful and done intentionally without just cause or excuse; as, a malicious act. Malicious abandonment, the desertion of a wife or husband without just cause. Burrill. -- Malicious mischief (Law), malicious injury to the property of another; -- an offense at common law. Wharton. -- Malicious prosecution or arrest (Law), a wanton prosecution or arrest, by regular process in a civil or criminal proceeding, without probable cause. Bouvier.

Synonyms: Ill-disposed; evil-minded; mischievous; envious; malevolent; invidious; spiteful; bitter; malignant; rancorous; malign. Ma*li"cious*ly, adv. Ma*li"cious*ness, n.