malignant
/məˈlɪɡnənt/adjective, noun
malignant is spelled M-A-L-I-G-N-A-N-T: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, malignant means “Harmful, malevolent, injurious” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in malignant?
| Letters | 9: M-A-L-I-G-N-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 18,811th 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 malignant?
Malignant appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th 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 malignant?
- /məˈlɪɡnənt/
Malignant has 3 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: En-us-malignant.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of malignant
- more malignant comparative
- most malignant superlative
- malignants plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does malignant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Harmful, malevolent, injurious.
malignant temper; malignant revenge; malignant infection
- 2
Tending to produce death; threatening a fatal issue.
malignant diphtheria
noun
- 1
A deviant; a person who is hostile or destructive to society.
- 2
derogatoryobsoleteA person who fought for Charles I in the English Civil War.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Malignant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | malin, malveillant |
| German | bösartig , malign |
| Portuguese | maligno |
| Spanish | maligno |
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 malignant come from?
From Middle French malignant, from Late Latin malignans. See malign.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).