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malignant

malignant

45 7.2
A dangerous disease or tumor that grows, spreads, and can threaten life
  • adjective
  • /məˈlɪɡnənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : maligno
  • Well, several malignant tumors mimic the symptoms of the common headache.
  • malignant tumor
  • malignant cells
  • malignant disease

And Lombold, they've got a a huge malignant, inoperable or incurable brain tumor.

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Examples

  • Symptoms of chronic heart failure are easily confused with respiratory, renal, or malignant disease.

    Academic text (2011)
  • I am witnessing the burden a malignant diagnosis places on the family.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Those are the tissues in which malignant cancer is most frequent.

  • This gray mass on the MRI is a malignant tumor.

  • We propose to explore these ideas further in malignant melanoma and other cancers.

    Academic text (1992)
  • What we've managed to do is to create a new cutting-edge drug cocktail, along with surgery, to teach the malignant cells to switch off.

  • We've succeeded in curing many malignant diseases with electrical heat.

  • Here we describe a malignant oncocytoma of the lacrimal sac, which is a rare occurrence.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The management of both benign and malignant salivary gland masses requires surgical excision.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The doctor confirmed that the scan showed a malignant tumor in her lungs.

Synonyms

malign
vsmalignant
  • Formal
4 7.6

A harmful, evil force that causes people or things to suffer

is usually medical and describes a spreading progressively worse illness
cancerous
vsmalignant
3 6.0

Spreading and causing increasing harm inside a group or system

is a dangerous disease that tends to worsen and threaten life

Antonyms

231 1.0

Not able to hurt people or things

benign
  • Specialized
22 4.6

A growth like a lump that is not harmful and not likely to grow or spread

Compounds

A group of harmful cells that grow and spread in the body

malignant melanoma
  • Specialized
2 6.0

A serious skin cancer that starts in the cells that give skin its color and often makes dark uneven spots

malignant neoplasm
  • Specialized
1 5.2

A cancer that grows into nearby tissue and can spread to other parts of the body

1 6.7

Very high blood pressure that quickly damages blood vessels and organs like the heart, kidneys, and brain

malignant hepatoma
  • Specialized
7.4

A cancerous tumor in the liver that can spread to other parts

9.1

A rare inherited condition that causes very high body temperature and stiff muscles after certain anesthetics

A harmful effect that slowly damages people or groups

malignant nature
  • Specialized
9.7

A very harmful and cruel way of being that hurts other people

A harmful growth of body cells that can spread to other parts

malignant neuroma
  • Specialized
9.8

A cancer that grows in nerves and the tissue around them

9.9

A serious and dangerous skin sore caused by anthrax bacteria that starts as a small bump and becomes an ulcer

7.9

A long-term low red blood cell level when the body cannot absorb vitamin B12, often in older people

non-malignant
  • Specialized
3.8

Free from cancer and unlikely to harm your health

How Malignant

terminal
45 7.1
malignant
  • Specialized
45 7.2
dangerous
1.5
serious
2.0
benign
35 6.2

Surface Forms

malignant positive
maligner comparative
malignest superlative

Morphology

malignant = malign (transparent) = malign + ant

Formed by adding the adjective-forming suffix '-ant' to 'malign', yielding 'having the quality of being harmful or evil', which aligns with the medical sense.

Etymology

The word malignant comes from the Latin root mal- meaning 'bad' and is related to common words like malice and malicious. That's why malignant describes something very harmful or dangerous, especially a disease or tumor that gets worse and can spread.