Malice | Powerful Keystone SAT Vocabulary
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." — Hanlon's Razor
You need to know word roots to explode your vocabulary. The first two to learn are bene- (good; e.g., benefit) and mal- (bad; e.g., malinger).
📚️ Definition of Malice
Malice (noun): The intention or desire to do evil or cause harm to another person; ill will or spite that motivates someone to hurt others deliberately. Example: to spread rumors with pure malice.
🗣️ Pronunciation of Malice
IPA: /ˈmæl.ɪs/ (See IPA key)
Respelling: MAL-iss
📰 Examples of Malice
Here are some examples of the word malice:
Malicia commented on my first attempt at siu mai without malice—she noted that they completely lacked the expected flavor and despite my insistence, cheddar cheese was completely out of place in this type of dumpling.
In criminal law, “murder with malice aforethought” means the criminal planned the act and intended to cause death or serious harm.
I don’t think Jakubh made that post out of malice; he just didn’t notice that you had spaghetti sauce dripping off your chin onto on your shirt.
Summary: MAL = bad. (Remember this forever.) Malice = ill will. 🦹
See you mañana! We’ll be learning cardinal, which has many meanings, including an avian (i.e., related to birds) one.
Great word and quote!