Ma-li'ciŏŭs, a.

(ma-lĭsh'us), a. [Lat. malitiosus, Fr. malicieux, Pr. malicios, Sp. & Pg. malicioso, It. malizioso.]

1Sense 1. Indulging or exercising malice; harboring ill-will or enmity; malevolent; malignant in heart.

I grant him bloody, Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin That has a name. Shak.

2Sense 2. Proceeding from hatred or ill-will; dictated by malice; as, a malicious report.

3Sense 3. (Law.) With wicked or mischievous intentions or motives.

Malicious abandonment, the desertion of a wife or husband without just cause. Burrill. Bouvier. — Malicious prosecution or arrest (Law.), a wanton prosecution or arrest, by regular process in a civil or criminal proceeding, without probable cause. Bouvier.

Synonyms— Ill-disposed; evil-minded; mischievous; envious; malevolent; invidious; spiteful; resentful; bitter; malignant; rancorous.