Meanings
malinger1
present singular third person malingers · participle present malingering · participle past malingered · past malingered
- ambitransitiveTo feign illness, injury, or incapacitation in order to avoid work, obligation, or perilous risk.
It is not uncommon on exam days for several students to malinger rather than prepare themselves.
2 more examples
And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully! / Smoothed by long fingers, / Asleep … tired … or it malingers, / Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.
1915 June, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, in Prufrock and Other Observations, London: The Egoist […], published 1917, →OCLC, page 13It has been the impression of past investigators that persons who malinger psychosis have latent tendencies for the condition.
1984, The Psychiatric Quarterly, volume 56 - ambitransitiveTo self-inflict real injury or infection (to inflict self-harm) in order to avoid work, obligation, or perilous risk.
Malinger2
Synonyms & antonyms
verbavoid responsibilities and duties, e.g., by pretending to be ill
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchmalingrer
- Englishmalinger
From French malingrer, from adjective malingre (“delicate, fragile”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تَمَارَضَ
- تَمَارَضَ (tamāraḍa)to feign illness
Bulgarian преструвам се на болен
- преструвам се на болен (prestruvam se na bolen)to feign illness
Chinese Cantonese 詐病 /诈病
- 詐病 /诈病 (zaa³ beng⁶)to feign illness
Chinese Mandarin 裝病 /装病
- 裝病 /装病 (zhuāngbìng)to feign illness
Czech simulovat, hodit se marod
- simulovatto feign illness
- hodit se marodto feign illness
Finnish tekeytyä sairaaksi, teeskennellä sairasta
- tekeytyä sairaaksito feign illness
- teeskennellä sairastato feign illness
French feindre la maladie, faire le malade
- feindre la maladieto feign illness
- faire le maladeto feign illness
- se faire porter pâleto feign illness
German simulieren
- simulierento feign illness
Hungarian szimulál, betegnek adja ki magát
- szimulálto feign illness
- betegnek adja ki magátto feign illness
- színlelto feign illness
- tettetto feign illness
Irish bheith ag meathlóireacht
- bheith ag meathlóireachtto feign illness
Japanese 仮病を使う
- 仮病を使う (kebyō o tsukau)to feign illness
Korean 꾀병을 부리다
- 꾀병을 부리다 (kkoebyeong'eul burida)to feign illness
Māori whakangehengehe
- whakangehengeheto feign illness
Polish symulować, udawać chorego
- symulowaćto feign illness
- udawać choregoto feign illness
- udać choregoto feign illness
Portuguese fingir estar doente
- fingir estar doenteto feign illness
Russian притворя́ться больны́м, притвори́ться больны́м
- притворя́ться больны́м (pritvorjátʹsja bolʹným)to feign illness
- притвори́ться больны́м (pritvorítʹsja bolʹným)to feign illness
- прики́дываться больны́м (prikídyvatʹsja bolʹným)to feign illness
- прики́нуться больны́м (prikínutʹsja bolʹným)to feign illness
- симули́ровать (simulírovatʹ)to feign illness
Spanish hacerse el enfermo
- hacerse el enfermoto feign illness
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with malinger
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
malinger. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malinger
“malinger.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malinger. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “malinger,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malinger.
Source: malinger on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.