malign 作为动词,意为"诽谤、中伤",指恶意地说某人坏话,损害其名誉。作为形容词,意为"有害的、恶意的",形容某事物具有邪恶或有害的影响。
/məˈlaɪn/
She was unfairly maligned by her colleagues at work.
她在工作中被同事们不公正地中伤了。
Despite his contributions to the community, the politician was constantly maligned in the press, which gradually eroded public trust in his character.
尽管他为社区做出了很多贡献,这位政治家却不断被媒体诽谤,这逐渐侵蚀了公众对他品格的信任。
malign 源自拉丁语 malignus,由 malus(坏的、邪恶的)和 -gnus(天生的,与 genus 同源)组成,字面意思是"天性邪恶的"。该词经由古法语 maligne 传入英语,最初主要用作形容词,表示"有害的",后来逐渐发展出动词用法,意为"恶意中伤"。与之相对的词是 benign(良性的、善意的),两者构成一组经典反义词。