malefic
/məˈlɛfɪk/
"malefic" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“malefic” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having an evil or harmful influence; baleful.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | malefic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /məˈlɛfɪk/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “malefic” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for malefic is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /məˈlɛfɪk/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Having an evil or harmful influence; baleful.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for malefic in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin maleficus. The correct English form is malefic, spelled M-A-L-E-F-I-C.
Definition
- 1Having an evil or harmful influence; baleful.
Etymology
From Latin maleficus.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “malefic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-L-E-F-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /məˈlɛfɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.