malinger

IPA/məˈlɪŋɡə(r)/
IPA/məˈlɪŋɡər/

malinger — verb

  • malingerpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • malingershe / she / it
  • malingeredpast simple
  • malingering-ing form

1. to fake illness or injury, often to avoid going to work or carrying out an unwan

1.動詞不及物C1
釋義

to fake illness or injury, often to avoid going to work or carrying out an unwanted duty — a serious accusation in workplace, medical, and military settings.

例句

The army doctor realised the soldier was malingering when his pain vanished after the drill.

malinger in military context; symptoms vanish when threat removed

Benjamin's supervisor caught him malingering every Friday to leave work early.

repeated pattern of malingering on specific days

同義詞
  • feign

    broader — can feign any emotion or state, not just illness

  • shirk

    focuses on avoiding duty itself, not the method of avoidance

  • simulate

    more clinical and technical, often used in medical reports

  • pretend

    general-purpose; less formal and less accusatory

反義詞
  • work

    to carry out one's duties instead of avoiding them

  • diligent

    describes someone who works hard without excuse-making

文法句型

malinger (no direct object)

用法筆記

Common in medical, military, and workplace settings. Carries a strong negative connotation — accusing someone of malingering implies deliberate dishonesty. Often appears in nominalised form (malingering) as in 'suspected of malingering'.

常見錯誤

❌He malingered a cold to stay home.
✅He was malingering to stay home from work.
💡malinger is intransitive and cannot take a direct object such as 'a cold'.
❌She malingered about her back injury.
✅The doctor suspected she was malingering.
💡malinger is not followed by 'about' or other prepositions describing the fake condition.