Meanings
nounsummum malum (plural summa mala)
plural summa mala
- human sciencesThe greatest evil.
The "liberalism of fear," as Shklar tags it, is grounded in an appreciation that cruelty is the summum malum, the worst thing that human beings can inflict upon one another.
1998, Richard J. Ellis, The Dark Side of the Left: Illiberal Egalitarianism in America, page 40Antonyms: summum bonum
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe greatest evil.
Opposite
Cite this entry
APA
summum malum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/summum%20malum
MLA
“summum malum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/summum%20malum. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “summum malum,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/summum%20malum.
Source: summum malum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.