malign

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2007 is: malign • \muh-LYNE\ • verb : to utter injuriously misleading or false reports about : speak evil of Examples: Critics have relentlessly maligned the mayor since rumors of bribery surfaced, even though she has successfully revitalized the downtown shopping district. Did you know? When a word's got "mal-" in it, it's no good. That prefix traces to the Latin word "malus" (which means "bad"), and it puts the negative vibes in "malign" and a host of other English words. You can see it in "malpractice" (bad medical practice) and "malady" (a bad condition, such as a disease or illness, of the body or mind). A "malefactor" is someone guilty of bad deeds, and "malice" is a desire to cause injury, pain, or distress to another person. Other "mal-" formed words include "malaise," "malcontent," "maladroit," "malodorous," and "malnourished." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.