malefacture

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noun

An act of doing evil; a criminal act; malefaction, maleficence.

Opposite
benefacture
OriginLatin malefactūrus →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

nounmalefacture (countable and uncountable, plural malefactures)

plural malefactures

  1. countableobsoleteuncountableAn act of doing evil; a criminal act; malefaction, maleficence.

    The putred Fountaine, and bitumenous VVell, / From whence all Vice and malefactures ſwell.

    1635, Tho[mas] Heywood, “The Principats”, in The Hierarchie of the Blessed Angells. Their Names, Orders and Offices; The Fall of Lucifer with His Angells, London: […] Adam Islip, page 412

    Antonyms: benefacture

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn act of doing evil; a criminal act; malefaction, maleficence.

Opposite
benefacture

Origin

  1. Latinmalefactūrus
  2. Englishmalefacture

Borrowed from Latin malefactūrus, future active participle of malefaciō (“to do evil or harm, to injure”) + -ure (noun-forming suffix).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

malefacture. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malefacture

MLA

“malefacture.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malefacture. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “malefacture,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malefacture.

Source: malefacture on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.