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mal-

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "mal"

English

Etymology

From Old French mal- from Latin male (“badly”), from malus (“bad”).

Prefix

mal-

bad, badly
Synonym: mis-
1. evil
  malism, malinfluence
2. unhealthy, harmful
  maleffect
3. unpleasant
  malodor
4. incorrect
  Synonyms: para-, dis-, dys-, mis-
  
  maldifferentiation
5. incomplete, unfinished
  maldescent
6. poorly, deficiently
  Synonyms: under-, hypo-, dys-
  
  malfed, malnourished, malcirculation
unintentional, mistaken, accidental
Synonym: mis-

malcommunication
not
Synonyms: a-, an-, dys-, in-, non-, un-

maladherence, malcontent

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with mal-

maladaptability

maladministration

maladministrator

malapportionment

malappropriation

malassimilation

malcommunication

malcompensation

malconformation

malconstruction

maldifferentiation

maldistribution

malidentification

malorganization

malpigmentation

malplacentation

malpractitioner

malpresentation

malproliferation

malproportioned

Anagrams

ALM, AML, LAM, Lam, Lam., M.L.A., MLA, alm, lam

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Catalan

Etymology

From mal.

Prefix

mal-

poorly, badly

Derived terms

Further reading

“mal-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025

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Esperanto

Etymology

Borrowed from French mal- in its secondary sense of denoting the opposite.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mal/
Audio: (file)

Prefix

mal-

denotes opposites
‎mal- + ‎alta (“high”) → ‎malalta (“low”)

‎mal- + ‎ami (“to love”) → ‎malami (“to hate”)

‎mal- + ‎dekstra (“right”) → ‎maldekstra (“left”)

Usage notes

Speakers of languages where words similar to mal- have meanings related to badness or evil should remember that mal- indicates solely the antonym, with no pejorative value. Affixes with pejorative connotations include mis- (“wrongly, incorrectly, poorly”), fi- (“shameful”), and -aĉ- (“inferior in quality, contemptible”).
Despite the availability of mal-, many words denoting opposites are available; for example malgranda and eta (“small”), or malgaja and trista (“sad”). Some of these are poetic or rare, but others have passed into more or less common use. Mal- may and often is still used to produce the opposite, though in certain cases it might have a slightly different connotation; e.g. malpaco (“turmoil, strife”) vs. milito (“war”).
When it is necessary to distinguish between the contrary of a sense and the absence of it, the latter may be indicated with ne- (“not”) or sen- (“without”). For example, malamiko (“enemy”) contrasts with neamiko "non-friend" (e.g. a stranger or acquaintance).

Esperanto terms prefixed with mal-

Derived terms

mala (“opposite”, adjective)
malo (“opposite”, noun)
male (“on the contrary”)

See also

ne-, sen-, kontraŭ-

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French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French mal-, from Old French mal-, from mal (“bad; badly”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mal/
Audio (France (Lyon)): (file)

Prefix

mal-

badly; wrongly
‎mal- + ‎faisant → ‎malfaisant (“harmful”)
denotes the opposite of the unprefixed form

Derived terms

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Italian

Etymology

From Latin male (“badly”).

Prefix

mal-

bad; badly

Derived terms

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Maltese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mal/
Rhymes: -al

Preposition

mal-

definite form of ma’ used before vowels or qamri consonants.
mal-mara ― with the woman

mal-idea ― with the idea

Old French

Alternative forms

mau-

Etymology

From Latin male (“badly”).

Prefix

mal-

bad; badly

Synonyms

mes-

Derived terms

Old French terms prefixed with mal-

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin male (“badly”).

Prefix

mal-

Further reading

“mal-”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
“mal-”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin male (“badly”).

Prefix

mal-

bad; badly

Derived terms

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