Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
MALIGN
I. adjective see: mal-
Date: 14th century
1. evil in nature, influence, or effect ; injurious , malignant , virulent , having or showing intense often vicious ill will ; malevolent , see: sinister malignly adverb
II. transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French maligner to act maliciously, from Late Latin malignari, from Latin malignus
Date: 15th century
to utter injuriously misleading or false reports about ; speak evil of, Synonyms: see: malign