malfeasance

/ˌmælˈfiːzəns/

//ˌmælˈfiːzəns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"malfeasance" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“malfeasance” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,178. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,178
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Wrongdoing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-malfeasance · malfeasance · English

malfeasance · rank #47,178 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,178
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Malayan

Nearest frequency peer: Malayan (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “malfeasance”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “malfeasance” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for malfeasance
PropertyValue
Headwordmalfeasance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌmælˈfiːzəns/
Letters11
Frequency rank#47,178
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “malfeasance”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).malfeasancelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Malayan” (#47,177), “Mandeville” (#47,179), “Markey” (#47,180). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “malfeasance” is #47,178. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around malfeasance (IPA /ˌmælˈfiːzəns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #47,178 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for malfeasance, with forms such as "amlfeasance", "mafleasance", and "malefasance". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French malfaisance, derived from malfaire, maufaire (“to do evil”), from Latin malefaciō (“I do evil”), from male (“evilly”) + faciō (“do, make”). The correct English form is malfeasance, spelled M-A-L-F-E-A-S-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Wrongdoing.
  2. 2
    Misconduct or wrongdoing, especially by a public official and causing damage.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how malfeasance appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. For starters, back-burnering malfeasance, usually in the form of graft, risks repeating the kind of disastrous mistakes that the United States made in Afghanistan.
  2. By then, Mr. Altman had gathered more allies. Mr. Nadella, now confident that Mr. Altman was not guilty of malfeasance, threw Microsoft’s weight behind him.

Etymology

From Old French malfaisance, derived from malfaire, maufaire (“to do evil”), from Latin malefaciō (“I do evil”), from male (“evilly”) + faciō (“do, make”).

This word in other languages

maldad(Español)Übeltat(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amlfeasance
  • mafleasance
  • malefasance
  • malfaesance
  • malfeaasnce
  • malfeasacne
  • malfeasancce
  • malfeasanec
  • malfeasannce
  • malfeasence
  • malfeasnace
  • malfeassance
  • malfesaance
  • malffeasance
  • mallfeasance
  • mlafeasance
  • mmalfeasance

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of malfeasance - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

amlfeasance2mafleasance2malefasance2malfaesance2malfeaasnce2malfeasacne2malfeasancce1malfeasanec2
Edit distance from "malfeasance"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "malfeasance"?
"malfeasance" is spelled M-A-L-F-E-A-S-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌmælˈfiːzəns/.
What does "malfeasance" mean?
As a noun, "malfeasance" means: Wrongdoing.
What are common misspellings of "malfeasance"?
Common misspellings include "amlfeasance", "mafleasance", "malefasance", "malfaesance", "malfeaasnce". The correct spelling is "malfeasance".
How do you pronounce "malfeasance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "malfeasance" is /ˌmælˈfiːzəns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "malfeasance"?
From Old French malfaisance, derived from malfaire, maufaire (“to do evil”), from Latin malefaciō (“I do evil”), from male (“evilly”) + faciō (“do, make”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "malfeasance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mechanistic#47,187phosphatase#47,255polypeptide#47,268rationalism#47,287

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

multichannel17 variantsinadequately17 variantsunionization17 variantsAristotelian17 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list