From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmalevolentma‧lev‧o‧lent /məˈlevələnt/ adjective formal BAD BEHAVIOUR OR ACTIONSa malevolent person wants to harm other people SYN evil OPP benevolentmalevolent look/stare/smile etc He gave her a dark, malevolent look. —malevolence noun [uncountable] —malevolently adverb
Examples from the Corpus
malevolent• Burns and other officials said the issue is not whether Scientology is good or bad, benign or malevolent.• Later, when my mind is rearranged, their expressions will come to seem contemptuous; even malevolent.• Then you saw evil - soulless, malevolent evil.• I have the feeling that all the malevolent forces in the world have turned on me.• the story of a malevolent ghost• What credence can we give to his story of some malevolent person waiting in a window alcove?• Looking at the pompous, malevolent priest in his humiliation, Jane knew he would never forget what she had done.• It seemed that a malevolent spirit was out to get me.malevolent look/stare/smile etc• He had a nervous twitch which jerked at a muscle at the corner of his thin-lipped mouth and a malevolent stare.• The manikin threw a malevolent look at Corbett and fled into the darkness.• But Theda stayed where she was by the door, meeting Araminta's malevolent stare with a fast-beating heart.Origin malevolent (1500-1600) Latin malevolens “wishing evil” 