Meaning & use

maleficent

adjective·Advanced

Causing harm or evil, especially through malicious intent or supernatural power.

See it in a sentence

The story's maleficent sorceress cursed the kingdom out of pure spite.

Villagers blamed the drought on a maleficent spirit haunting the forest.

A note on using this word

Maleficent is literary and somewhat rare in everyday speech; do not confuse it with "beneficent," its near-opposite in sound and meaning.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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