maleficence

M3A1L1E1F4I1C3E1N1C3E1
/məˈlɛfɪsəns/

noun

harmfulness or mischief.

Similar
mischiefbalefulness
Opposite
beneficencenonmaleficence
OriginItalian maleficenza ← Middle French maleficence ← Latin maleficentia →
Scrabble 20
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounmaleficence (countable and uncountable, plural maleficences)

plural maleficences

  1. countableuncountableharmfulness or mischief.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
beneficencenonmaleficence

noundoing or causing evil

Opposite
beneficence
Broader
malevolencemalignity

nounthe quality or nature of being harmful or evil

Similar
mischiefbalefulness
Opposite
beneficence
Broader
evilevilness
Also see
balefulnessmischief

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinmaleficentia
  2. Middle Frenchmaleficence
  3. Italianmaleficenza
  4. Englishmaleficence

From Italian maleficenza or Middle French maleficence or directly from Latin maleficentia.

More words from Italian, Middle French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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