Nota: La traducción de esta entrada está actualmente en revisión de calidad, por lo que parte del contenido se muestra temporalmente solo en inglés.
Esta entrada aún no se ha traducido a tu idioma, así que se muestra el original a continuación.
maliciousness
This term describes a conscious, active desire to cause pain, injury, or distress to another. It is a heavy, formal word that emphasizes the quality of being malicious. While it is often used interchangeably with "malice," "maliciousness" typically refers to the characteristic or the state of the person's nature, whereas "malice" is frequently used in legal contexts (e.g., "malice aforethought") to describe the specific intent behind a crime.
In social contexts, it carries a strong negative connotation of cruelty. It differs from "spite" in scale and intent; spite is often a petty, reactive desire to annoy or frustrate someone, while maliciousness implies a deeper, more destructive intent to cause significant harm.
Because of its formal register, it is more common in written reports, legal discussions, or literary descriptions than in casual spoken conversation. In everyday speech, native speakers are more likely to use adjectives like "mean" or "cruel," or the noun "spite."
Meanings
Examples
The court must determine if the act was committed with pure maliciousness.
I cannot believe the sheer maliciousness of her comments during the meeting.
The demon fed on the maliciousness of the villagers.
There was a certain maliciousness in the way he smiled after the accident.
He acted out of pure maliciousness to ruin my reputation.
Why would anyone act with such blatant maliciousness toward a stranger?
The software was designed with maliciousness in mind to steal user data.
She sensed a hidden maliciousness beneath his polite exterior.