Meaning & use
malingerer
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Meaning
nouncountabledisapproving
A person who pretends to be ill or makes their condition seem worse in order to avoid work or duty.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a malingerer' or 'malingerers'. It is not used for someone who is genuinely ill.
Patterns
- a malingerer who ...
- accused of being a malingerer
- call someone a malingerer
His boss called him a malingerer because he always had an excuse to leave early.
The sergeant was known to be strict with malingerers in his unit.
She felt insulted when the doctor suggested she might be a malingerer.
Word forms
| plural | malingerers |
|---|
Common combinations
- accused of being a malingerer
- He was accused of being a malingerer after taking too many sick days.
- call someone a malingerer
- It is unfair to call someone a malingerer without proof.
- a notorious malingerer
- She was a notorious malingerer who always seemed to be ill on Mondays.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shirker
- A shirker avoids work or duty, but not necessarily by pretending to be ill; the focus is on avoiding responsibility.
- slacker
- A slacker is a lazy person who does not work hard, but they may not actively pretend to be sick.
Opposites
Word family
- malinger verb
- To pretend to be ill to avoid work.
- malingering noun
- The act of pretending to be ill to avoid work.
Commonly confused: malingerer or malinger?
malingerer vs malinger
Malinger is the verb; a malingerer is the person who does it. Do not use 'malinger' for the person.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'malingerer' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Malingerer' is a noun meaning a person who pretends to be ill to avoid work. In option A, 'malingerer' is used as a verb, which is wrong; option C contradicts the meaning; option D uses it as a verb and is grammatically wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “malingerer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.