malicious

/məˈlɪʃəs/

//məˈlɪʃəs// adj

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

"malicious" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“malicious” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,739. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,739
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Intending to do harm; characterized by spite and malice.

Corpus desk

Index EN-malicious · malicious · English

malicious · rank #11,739 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #11,739
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH lure

Nearest frequency peer: lure (-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 “malicious”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “malicious” 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).

malicious vs maliciously
82% similar

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

Key facts for malicious
PropertyValue
Headwordmalicious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/məˈlɪʃəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#11,739
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “malicious”

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).maliciouslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “lure” (#11,738), “mattress” (#11,740), “locality” (#11,737). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “malicious” is #11,739. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around malicious (IPA /məˈlɪʃəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #11,739 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Intending to do harm; characterized by spite and malice.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for malicious, with forms such as "amlicious", "mailcious", and "malciious". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "maliciously", 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 malicious, from Old French malicios, from Latin malitiōsus, from malitia (“malice”), from malus (“bad”). Displaced native Middle English ivelwilled and ivelwilly (“malicious”), related to Old English yfelwillende (literally “evil-willing… The correct English form is malicious, spelled M-A-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Intending to do harm; characterized by spite and malice.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He was sent off for a malicious tackle on Jones.
  2. They gathered soberly in the farthest recess of the ward and gossiped about him in malicious, offended undertones, rebelling against his presence as a ghastly imposition and resenting him malevolently for the nauseating truth of which he was bright reminder.

Etymology

From Middle English malicious, from Old French malicios, from Latin malitiōsus, from malitia (“malice”), from malus (“bad”). Displaced native Middle English ivelwilled and ivelwilly (“malicious”), related to Old English yfelwillende (literally “evil-willing”). By surface analysis, malice + -ious.

This word in other languages

maligno(Español)malveillant(Français)böse(Deutsch)malicioso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amlicious
  • mailcious
  • malciious
  • maliccious
  • maliciosu
  • maliciouss
  • maliciuos
  • malicoius
  • maliicous
  • mallicious
  • mlaicious
  • mmalicious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

amlicious2mailcious2malciious2maliccious1maliciosu2maliciouss1maliciuos2malicoius2
Edit distance from "malicious"

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 "malicious"?
"malicious" is spelled M-A-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /məˈlɪʃəs/.
What does "malicious" mean?
As an adjective, "malicious" means: Intending to do harm; characterized by spite and malice.
What words are commonly confused with "malicious"?
"malicious" is commonly confused with "maliciously". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "malicious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "malicious" is /məˈlɪʃəs/. 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 "malicious"?
From Middle English malicious, from Old French malicios, from Latin malitiōsus, from malitia (“malice”), from malus (“bad”). Displaced native Middle English ivelwilled and ivelwilly (“malicious”), related to Old English yfelwillende (literally “ev... 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 "malicious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

inaugural#11,725illnesses#11,723partition#11,758heartbeat#11,718

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Meredith12 variantslocality12 variantsmuscular12 variantsprostate12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list