malevolent
/məˈlɛvələnt/adjective
malevolent is spelled M-A-L-E-V-O-L-E-N-T: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, malevolent means “Having or displaying ill will; wishing harm on others” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in malevolent?
| Letters | 10: M-A-L-E-V-O-L-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is malevolent?
Malevolent appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce malevolent?
- /məˈlɛvələnt/
Malevolent has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-malevolent.wav, En-us-malevolent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of malevolent
- more malevolent comparative
- most malevolent superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does malevolent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having or displaying ill will; wishing harm on others.
- 2
Having an evil or harmful influence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Malevolent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having or displaying ill will; wishing harm on others:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | malintentionné, malveillant, malévolent, maléfique, mauvais |
| German | böswillig |
| Portuguese | malevolente, malévolo, mal-intencionado |
| Spanish | malévolo, malintencionado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does malevolent come from?
From Middle English *malevolent (suggested by Middle English malevolence), from Old French malivolent and Latin malevolentem, from male (“badly, wrongly”) + volens (“willing, wishing”), from velle (“to wish”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).