malice

/ˈmælɪs/

//ˈmælɪs// noun

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

"malice" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“malice” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,617. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,617
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Intention to harm or deprive in an illegal or immoral way. Desire to take pleasure in another's misfortune.

Corpus desk

Index EN-malice · malice · English

malice · rank #18,617 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,617
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH maize

Nearest frequency peer: maize (-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 “malice”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “malice” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

malice vs mice
67% similar
malice vs Marie
50% similar
malice vs Malik
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for malice
PropertyValue
Headwordmalice
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmælɪs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#18,617
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “malice”

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).malicelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “maize” (#18,616), “manu” (#18,618), “Maharashtra” (#18,615). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “malice” is #18,617. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around malice (IPA /ˈmælɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,617 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for malice, with forms such as "amlice", "mailce", and "malcie". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "mice", "Marie", "Malik", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English malice, borrowed from Old French malice, from Latin malitia (“badness, bad quality, ill-will, spite”), from malus (“bad”). The correct English form is malice, spelled M-A-L-I-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Intention to harm or deprive in an illegal or immoral way. Desire to take pleasure in another's misfortune.
  2. 2
    An intention to do injury to another party, which in many jurisdictions is a distinguishing factor between the crimes of murder and manslaughter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Your voice positively drips malice.
  2. […] not only was there no gratitude (which he could psychologically handle) but downright malice showed itself instead.

Etymology

From Middle English malice, borrowed from Old French malice, from Latin malitia (“badness, bad quality, ill-will, spite”), from malus (“bad”).

This word in other languages

malicia(Español)malveillance(Français)Boshaftigkeit(Deutsch)malícia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amlice
  • mailce
  • malcie
  • malicce
  • maliec
  • mallice
  • mlaice
  • mmalice

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of malice - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

amlice2mailce2malcie2malicce1maliec2mallice1mlaice2mmalice1
Edit distance from "malice"

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 "malice"?
"malice" is spelled M-A-L-I-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmælɪs/.
What does "malice" mean?
As a noun, "malice" means: Intention to harm or deprive in an illegal or immoral way. Desire to take pleasure in another's misfortune.
What words are commonly confused with "malice"?
"malice" is commonly confused with "mice", "Marie", "Malik". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "malice"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "malice" is /ˈmælɪs/. 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 "malice"?
From Middle English malice, borrowed from Old French malice, from Latin malitia (“badness, bad quality, ill-will, spite”), from malus (“bad”). 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 "malice", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Melvin#18,623Lizzie#18,609Minnie#18,628jammed#18,600

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

lofty8 variantslatch8 variantsitchy8 variantspeeled8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list