different between threatening vs malign

English

Alternative forms

• threatning (obsolete)

Etymology

From threaten +? -ing.

Pronunciation

• enPR: thr?t??n??, IPA^(key): /????t.n?.??/
• Hyphenation: threat?en?ing

Verb

threatening

1. present participle of threaten

Adjective

threatening (comparative more threatening, superlative most threatening)

1. Presenting a threat; menacing; frightening.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

threatening (countable and uncountable, plural threatenings)

1. An act of threatening; a threat.
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts IV:

     And nowe lorde beholde their threatenynges, and graunte unto thy servauntes wyth all confydence to speake thy worde.

   • 1859-1895, Charles Dickens, All the Year Round

     The butcher's boy — a fierce and beefy youth, who openly defied the dog, and waved him off with hurlings of his basket and threatenings of his feet, accompanied by growls of "Git out, yer beast!" — now entered silently […]

English

Etymology

From Old French maligne, from Latin malignus, from malus (“bad”) + genus (“sort, kind”). Compare benign.

Pronunciation

• enPR: m?-l?n', IPA^(key): /m??la?n/

Adjective

malign (comparative more malign, superlative most malign)

1. Evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.
2. Malevolent.
   • 1891, Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

     He was sure they [the stars] were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign significance.

3. (oncology) Malignant.
   • 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Seditions and Troubles

     malign ulcers

Antonyms

• benign

Related terms

• malignant

Translations

Verb

malign (third-person singular simple present maligns, present participle maligning, simple past and past participle maligned)

1. (transitive) To make defamatory statements about; to slander or traduce.
   • To be envied and shot at; to be maligned standing, and to be despised falling.

2. (transitive, archaic) To treat with malice; to show hatred toward; to abuse; to wrong.

   • The people practice what mischiefs and villainies they will against private men, whom they malign by stealing their goods, or murdering them.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:defame

Translations

Anagrams

• Gilman, laming, lingam

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin malignus

Adjective

malign (masculine and feminine malign, neuter malignt, definite singular and plural maligne)

1. (medicine) malignant

References

• “malign” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “malign” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin malignus

Adjective

malign (masculine and feminine malign, neuter malignt, definite singular and plural maligne)

1. (medicine) malignant