malign

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The Word of the Day for October 14 is:=20

malign   \muh-LYNE\   verb
          : to utter injuriously misleading or false reports about : spe=
ak evil of

Example sentence:
      Critics have relentlessly maligned the mayor since rumors of bribe=
ry surfaced, even though she has successfully revitalized the downtown s=
hopping district.

Did you know?
          When a word's got "mal-" in it, it's no good. That prefix trac=
es to the Latin word =E2=80=9Cmalus=E2=80=9D (which means "bad=E2=80=9D)=
, and it puts the negative vibes in "malign" and a host of other English=
 words. You can see it in "malpractice" (bad medical practice) and "mala=
dy" (a bad condition, such as a disease or illness, of the body or mind)=
. A "malefactor" is someone guilty of bad deeds, and =E2=80=9Cmalice=E2=80=
=9D is a desire to cause injury, pain, or distress to another person. Ot=
her "mal-" formed words include "malaise," "malcontent," "maladroit," "m=
alodorous," and "malnourished."





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