malignant
adjective
- harmful, perhaps as cancer
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /məˈlɪɡnənt/
adj
Etymology: From Middle French malignant, from Late Latin malignans. See malign.
- Harmful, malevolent, injurious.
“malignant temper; malignant revenge; malignant infection”
“[…]while, I fear, there will be some white ones, unable to forget that, with malignant heart, and deceitful speech, they have strove to hinder it.”
- Tending to produce death; threatening a fatal issue.
“malignant diphtheria”
“a malignant tumor”
noun
Etymology: From Middle French malignant, from Late Latin malignans. See malign.
- A deviant; a person who is hostile or destructive to society.
“As devout Stephen was carried to his burial by devout men, so is it just and equal that malignants should carry malignants […]”
“A malignant in a position of real power immediately becomes a tyrant.”
- A person who fought for Charles I in the English Civil War.