malignant
Spreading and deadly
Malignant describes something harmful and spreading—evil that actively works against wellbeing.
A malignant tumor is cancerous, growing invasively and threatening life, unlike a benign one.
Outside medicine, malignant characterizes intense ill will: a malignant influence, malignant gossip.
The word suggests not just harm but something that worsens over time if unchecked.
Profound moral wickedness
- spitefulWanting to hurt others
- vindictiveSeeking harm from resentment
- wickedEvil or slang-excellent
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
baleful · diabolical · cruel · hateful · vicious · menacing · ominous · hostile
Abnormal tissue mass
- metastasisCancer spreading beyond origin
- carcinomaEpithelial malignant tumor
- oncologyCancer medicine specialty
- chemotherapyAnti-cancer drug treatment
biopsy · neoplasm · sarcoma · melanoma · leukemia · lymphoma · adenocarcinoma · glioma
Gradually and subtly harmful
- destructiveCausing severe harm
- noxiousHarmful, especially when inhaled
- toxicCapable of causing harm
- poisonousCapable of causing death
baneful · deleterious · detrimental · injurious · damaging · ruinous · corrosive · insidious
Able to spread disease
- pathogenicCausing disease
- contagiousTransmissible between people
- virulenceCapacity to cause disease
- epidemicWidespread disease occurrence
pandemic · plague · pestilent · aggressive · spreading · invasive · resistant · outbreak
evil
Profound moral wickedness
- spitefulWanting to hurt others
- vindictiveSeeking harm from resentment
- wickedEvil or slang-excellent
sinister · baleful · diabolical · cruel · hateful · vicious · menacing · ominous · hostile · venomous
tumor
Abnormal tissue mass
- metastasisCancer spreading beyond origin
- carcinomaEpithelial malignant tumor
- oncologyCancer medicine specialty
chemotherapy · biopsy · neoplasm · sarcoma · melanoma · leukemia · lymphoma · adenocarcinoma · glioma · metastatic
pernicious
Gradually and subtly harmful
- destructiveCausing severe harm
- noxiousHarmful, especially when inhaled
- toxicCapable of causing harm
poisonous · baneful · deleterious · detrimental · injurious · damaging · ruinous · corrosive · insidious · deadly
infectious
Able to spread disease
- pathogenicCausing disease
- contagiousTransmissible between people
- virulenceCapacity to cause disease
epidemic · pandemic · plague · pestilent · aggressive · spreading · invasive · resistant · outbreak · septic
- pathologycancer, disease, infection, tumor, lesion
- medicinedoctor, doctors, hospital, medicine, surgery
- breast cancerbreast cancer, mastectomy, mammogram, lumpectomy, mammography
- Cancercarcinoma, metastasis, tumor growth, staging, prognosis
- medical termsdiagnosis, disorder, surgery, disease, illness
- growthsgrowth, growths, tumor, tumors, tumour
malignantbenign
Not harmful or threatening
nonmalignant · noncancerous · curable · harmless · treatable
malignantbenevolent
Desiring others' welfare
benign · kindhearted · benignant · kind · warmhearted
- malignant tumorCancerous bodily growth
- malignant cellsHarmful, uncontrolled tissue growth
- malignant narcissismPathological self-love with cruelty
- malignant growthHarmful, spreading tumor
malignancy, malignantly, malignance, nonmalignant, malignancies, premalignant