• vt. 诽谤，污蔑；中伤，说坏话
• adj. 恶意的，恶性的；有害的

mal-,坏的，不良的，-gn,出生，词源同gene,generate.字面意思即出生就坏的，引申词义诽谤，中伤等。

malign

malign: [14] Malign comes, probably via Old French, from Latin malignus ‘wicked’. This was derived from malus ‘bad’, a word of unknown origin (some have tried to link it with English small). Malus is of course the starting point for a wide range of other English words, including malady [13] (ultimately from Vulgar Latin *male habitus ‘in bad condition’); malaise [18] (which originated in Old French as a conflation of mal aise ‘bad ease’); malapropism; malaria; malediction [15] (etymologically ‘evil saying’); malevolent [16] (literally ‘wishing evil’); malice [13] (from Latin malitia, a derivative of malus); and malingerer [18] (from French malingre, which may have been a compound of mal- and haingre ‘weak’). Malignant [16] comes from the present participle of Latin malignāre ‘act with malice’, a verb derived from malignus.
=> malady, malaise, malaria, malignant, malingerer

malign (adj.)

early 14c., from Old French maligne "having an evil nature," from Latin malignus "wicked, bad-natured," from male "badly" (see mal-) + -gnus "born," from gignere "to bear, beget," from PIE root *gn- "to bear" (see genus).

malign (v.)

"to slander," mid-15c., from earlier more literal sense of "to plot, to contrive" (early 15c.), from Old French malignier "to plot, deceive, pervert," from Late Latin malignare "to do maliciously," from malignus (see malign (adj.)). Related: Maligned; maligning.

1. Reliance on sponsorship can have a malign effect on theatre groups.

对赞助的依赖会给剧团带来不良的影响。

来自柯林斯例句

2. Your behaviours exercised a malign influence on the children.

你的行为对孩子们产生了不良的影响.

来自《简明英汉词典》

3. Malign fate had broken their necks , perhaps, but never their hearts.

致命的厄运有时期断了他们的头颈, 但从不曾扼杀他们的勇气.

来自飘（部分）

4. " How did we malign you?

“ 我们怎样糟踏你?

来自汉英文学 - 围城

5. In an institutional environment that demanded lying, more malign lies could flourish.

在一种历来要求撒谎的环境里, 更无耻的谎话也能风靡一时.

来自辞典例句