Meanings
comparative more maleficently · superlative most maleficently
- In a maleficent manner.
They can also act maleficently by being overly aggressive and risking iatrogenic harm with ineffective therapies.
1996, Philip C. Hébert, Doing Right: A Practical Guide to Ethics for Physicians and Medical Trainees, Oxford University Press, USA, →ISBN, page 132 more examples
Robson displayed extraordinary tragic power ; was maleficently passionate as Sir Giles Overreach, and anon, in the indispensable mad scene, as pathetic and pitiable as Lear.
1882, Dutton Cook, “Frederick Robson”, in Sylvanus Urban, editor, The Gentleman's Magazine, volume 252, London: Chatto & Windus, Piccadilly, page 729Ultimately, being under the care of other humans leaves individuals vulnerable to the possibility that their human caregivers may not act in their best interests and may indeed act maleficently toward them.
2020 November 17, Chang S. Nam, Joseph B. Lyons, Trust in Human-Robot Interaction, Academic Press, →ISBN, page 562
Origin
Cite this entry
maleficently. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maleficently
“maleficently.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maleficently. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maleficently,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maleficently.
Source: maleficently on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.