malpais

M3A1L1P3A1I1S1

noun

Land akin to badlands, but having volcaniclastic rather than sedimentary rocks.

OriginSpanish malpaís →
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Meanings

nounmalpais (countable and uncountable, plural malpaises)

plural malpaises · alternative malpaís

  1. countableuncountablegeographyLand akin to badlands, but having volcaniclastic rather than sedimentary rocks.
  2. countableuncountablegeographyLand having an underlayer of basaltic lava and little or no soil.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
badlands

Origin

  1. Spanishmalpaís
  2. Englishmalpais

From Spanish malpaís, from mal (“bad”) + país (“land”).

More words from Spanish

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Palamis
Cite this entry
APA

malpais. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malpais

MLA

“malpais.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malpais. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “malpais,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malpais.

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