malign

/məˈlaɪn/

//məˈlaɪn// adj

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

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

The verdict

“malign” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,740. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,740
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.

Corpus desk

Index EN-malign · malign · English

malign · rank #47,740 · 9 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,740
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH madder

Nearest frequency peer: madder (-2 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 “malign”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “malign” 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).

malign vs Malik
50% similar
malign vs Marin
50% similar
malign vs Malin
67% similar

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

Key facts for malign
PropertyValue
Headwordmalign
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/məˈlaɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#47,740
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “malign”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).malignlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “madder” (#47,738), “maltreatment” (#47,742), “lunged” (#47,737). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “malign” is #47,740. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around malign (IPA /məˈlaɪn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #47,740 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for malign, with forms such as "amlign", "mailgn", and "malgin". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "Malik", "Marin", "Malin", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English maligne, from Old French maligne, from Latin malignus, from malus (“bad”) + genus (“sort, kind”). Compare benign. The correct English form is malign, spelled M-A-L-I-G-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.
  2. 2
    Malevolent.
  3. 3
    Malignant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Witchcraft may be by operation of malign spirits.
  2. It may be true that such running is exceptional rather than normal; there are still innumerable checks of one kind or another, many of them, alas, directly or indirectly the result of engine failures; and bad coal has often a malign influence.

Etymology

From Middle English maligne, from Old French maligne, from Latin malignus, from malus (“bad”) + genus (“sort, kind”). Compare benign.

Antonyms

benign

This word in other languages

böse(Deutsch)maligno(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amlign
  • mailgn
  • malgin
  • maliggn
  • malignn
  • maling
  • mallign
  • mlaign
  • mmalign

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

amlign2mailgn2malgin2maliggn1malignn1maling2mallign1mlaign2
Edit distance from "malign"

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 "malign"?
"malign" is spelled M-A-L-I-G-N. The IPA pronunciation is /məˈlaɪn/.
What does "malign" mean?
As an adjective, "malign" means: Evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.
What words are commonly confused with "malign"?
"malign" is commonly confused with "Malik", "Marin", "Malin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "malign"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "malign" is /məˈlaɪn/. 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 "malign"?
From Middle English maligne, from Old French maligne, from Latin malignus, from malus (“bad”) + genus (“sort, kind”). Compare benign. 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 "malign", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

madder#47,738lunged#47,737marque#47,747Maurer#47,751

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

McGhee9 variantsLaurier9 variantsLadakh9 variantsmorsel9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list