malefaction
1
9.6
- noun
- /ˌmælɪˈfækʃən/
- Archaic
:
malefacción
- He was charged with multiple malefactions, including theft and fraud.
- proclaim their malefactions
Examples
-
Perhaps our adversaries will merely lie low, ride out the initial onslaught, and then, after 60 days, resume whatever malefaction they were engaged in in the first place.
Academic text (1991) -
I have heard that guilty creatures sitting at a play have by the very cunning of the scene been struck so to the soul that presently they have proclaimed their malefactions.
-
I have heard that guilty creatures sitting at a play... have by the very cunning of the scene been struck so to the soul... that presently they have proclaimed their malefactions.
-
The investigation revealed several malefactions that contributed to the scandal.
-
In literature, the villain often commits a malefaction to drive the plot forward.
Synonyms
The act of doing harm or evil to others
A harmful act that causes damage or trouble
How Serious
151
8.1
- Specialized
310
5.5
∞
1.4
- Archaic
1
9.6
- Specialized
133
6.0
- US
351
3.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
malefaction = malefactor (opaque) = mal + fact + ion
Although composed of Latin elements meaning 'bad' + 'do' + '-ion', the formation is formal and rare; average learners will not reliably infer 'evil act' from its parts.
Etymology
The word malefaction comes from two parts: mal- meaning 'bad' and facere meaning 'to do', the same mal- you see in malpractice. So a malefaction is a 'bad doing' and means an evil or criminal act.