maleficent
maleficent — adjective
- maleficentpositive
- more maleficentcomparative
- most maleficentsuperlative
1. acting or intended to cause harm, evil, or suffering — used of people, forces, o
acting or intended to cause harm, evil, or suffering — used of people, forces, or actions that actively produce bad outcomes, such as a malicious ruler who deliberately hurts their subjects, or a supernatural curse that brings disaster
A witch cast a maleficent spell that turned the prince into a beast.
formal/literary register: supernatural contexts
The villagers believed a maleficent spirit brought sickness to their cattle.
collocation: maleficent + spirit / force / power
Historians described the emperor's maleficent policies as a source of great suffering for the population.
The folk tale warned of a maleficent nobleman who poisoned his guests for their land.
Environmental groups protested the maleficent effects of factory waste on the nearby river.
- malevolent
focuses on having an active wish to harm others, whereas 'maleficent' emphasises causing actual harm
- malicious
more common in everyday use, implies spiteful intent rather than actively producing evil outcomes
- baleful
literary word meaning threatening or promising harm, not necessarily carrying it out
- harmful
general-purpose word for causing damage; lacks the formal register and sense of deliberate evil
- benevolent
wishing or doing good, the direct opposite in register and meaning
- benign
gentle and harmless, without any threat of evil
用法筆記
This word is rare in everyday conversation and belongs to formal, literary, or academic registers. For ordinary descriptions of harm, learners should prefer 'harmful,' 'damaging,' or 'evil' instead.