malice noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of malice noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

malice

noun
 
/ˈmælɪs/
 
/ˈmælɪs/
[uncountable]Idioms
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  1. a desire to harm somebody caused by a feeling of hate
    • She is entirely without malice.
    • out of malice He sent the letter out of malice.
    • He certainly bears you no malice (= does not want to harm you).
    • The ghosts are described as if they bear actual malice towards humans.
    Extra Examples
    • She felt no malice.
    • She fired him out of sheer malice.
    • Paul had told him about it with a hint of malice.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • pure
    • actual
    verb + malice
    • bear (somebody)
    • hold
    preposition
    • out of malice
    • with malice
    • without malice
    See full entry
    Word OriginMiddle English: via Old French from Latin malitia, from malus ‘bad’.
Idioms
with malice aforethought
  1. (law) with the deliberate intention of committing a crime or harming somebody
See malice in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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