Meaning & use
non-malicious
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Not intending to harm or cause damage; without bad intent.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: a non-malicious error. It is not usually used after a verb.
Patterns
- a non-malicious act
- non-malicious code
- non-malicious intent
The security team decided the file was non-malicious and let it through.
Her comment was non-malicious; she simply did not realize it sounded harsh.
The report described the leak as a non-malicious mistake by a new employee.
Common combinations
- non-malicious intent
- The court found no non-malicious intent behind the false statement.
- non-malicious software
- The scanner separates non-malicious software from real threats.
- non-malicious error
- A non-malicious error in the code caused the crash.
- completely non-malicious
- The prank was completely non-malicious.
Synonyms and how they differ
- harmless
- Harmless means it causes no damage at all, while non-malicious means the intention was not bad, even if damage happened.
- benign
- Benign is more formal and often means mild or not dangerous, while non-malicious focuses on the lack of bad intent.
- well-meaning
- Well-meaning describes a person who wants to help, while non-malicious simply says there was no wish to harm.
Opposites
Word family
- malicious adjective
- Intending to harm or upset someone.
- maliciously adverb
- In a way that intends to harm.
- malice noun
- The wish to harm or upset someone.
Commonly confused: non-malicious or malicious?
non-malicious vs malicious
Malicious means intending to harm, while non-malicious means the opposite: no bad intent.
Practice
The antivirus program flagged the email as suspicious, but the analysts concluded it was ______.
Choose one answer.
Non-malicious fits because the analysts decided there was no bad intent. Malicious would mean the opposite, maliciously is an adverb, and malice is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “non-malicious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.