maliciousness
Desire to harm
Maliciousness is the quality of intending harm or ill will toward others.
Where malice is the intent itself, maliciousness emphasizes it as a character trait or persistent feature: The maliciousness of the rumors suggested a vendetta rather than careless gossip.
The word often appears in contexts distinguishing deliberate cruelty from negligence or accident.
Focus on insignificant matters
- meannessSpiteful, unkind disposition
- nastinessSpiteful or foul quality
- spitefulnessMalicious desire to harm
- vindictivenessDisposition toward retaliation
resentment · bitterness · grudge · jealousy · envy · ill-will · scorn · disdain
Moral corruption or evil
- villainyCriminal or evil behavior
- malevolenceActive ill will
- nefariousnessExtreme moral corruption
- depravityProfound moral corruption
corruption · iniquity · sinfulness · immorality · diabolical · fiendish · heinous · perfidy
Active, bitter hostility
- enmityBitter, lasting ill will
- antagonismActive opposition or hostility
- hatredIntense hostile aversion
- loathingIntense, settled disgust
acrimony · rancor · contempt · aversion · animus · aggression · belligerence · combativeness
Savage, merciless behavior
- sadismPleasure from inflicting pain
- inhumanityExtreme cruelty toward others
- heartlessnessLack of compassion
- callousnessCruel emotional indifference
mercilessness · ruthlessness · harshness · cold-bloodedness · viciousness · savagery · pitilessness · torment
pettiness
Focus on insignificant matters
- meannessSpiteful, unkind disposition
- nastinessSpiteful or foul quality
- spitefulnessMalicious desire to harm
vindictiveness · resentment · bitterness · grudge · jealousy · envy · ill-will · scorn · disdain · pique
wickedness
Moral corruption or evil
- villainyCriminal or evil behavior
- malevolenceActive ill will
- nefariousnessExtreme moral corruption
depravity · corruption · iniquity · sinfulness · immorality · diabolical · fiendish · heinous · perfidy · baseness
animosity
Active, bitter hostility
- enmityBitter, lasting ill will
- antagonismActive opposition or hostility
- hatredIntense hostile aversion
loathing · acrimony · rancor · contempt · aversion · animus · aggression · belligerence · combativeness · unfriendliness
brutality
Savage, merciless behavior
- sadismPleasure from inflicting pain
- inhumanityExtreme cruelty toward others
- heartlessnessLack of compassion
callousness · mercilessness · ruthlessness · harshness · cold-bloodedness · viciousness · savagery · pitilessness · torment · persecution
maliciousnessbenevolence
Disposition toward doing good
kindness · benignity · goodwill · kindheartedness · good intentions
maliciousnessbenevolence
Disposition toward doing good
goodness · virtue · graciousness · nobility · humaneness
malice, malicious, malign, maleficent, malignant, malevolent, malfeasance, malefactor, malignity