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malice noun

Click to hear the UK pronunciation of this wordClick to hear the US pronunciation of this word/ˈmæl.ɪs/ n [U]

Definition

the wish to harm or upset other people
There certainly wasn't any malice in her comments.
formal I bear him no malice (= do not want to harm or upset him).
with malice aforethought legal
To illegally harm someone with malice aforethought is to have thought about it and planned it before acting.

(Definition of malice noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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