mal, male = bad; abnormal; worse

dismal dis-mal (adjective) depressing; causing gloom or misery; causing bad feelings

After several dismal, rainy days, Dylan longed for blue skies and sunshine. Nancy was upset after seeing her dismal test score. I felt dismal when _________. For some people, it is dismal when it rains because ___________.

malady mal-a-dy (noun) Bad health; illness; sickness

My neighbor’s malady caused her to be bedridden for weeks. Despite his malady, he was in positive spirits. A cold can be a common malady when _____. Another common malady is ____ because ________.

malaria ma-lar-i-a (noun) Bad air; disease usually spread by infected mosquitoes

Malaria can cause people to have a fever, chills, and vomiting. The disease malaria is carried by mosquitos, and they transmit this by biting people.

malefactor mal-e-fac-tor Noun An evildoer; a person who does bad things

Larry was the leader of the gang of malefactors, and was on the FBI’s most wanted list. In the Harry Potter series, Voldemort is the main malefactor. The main character was called a malefactor because _________. I would not want to be called a malefactor because ___________.

malevolent ma-lev-o-lent (adjective) A word that describes a person or character who wishes bad things would happen to others malevolent

The malevolent character gets his just consequences in most fairy tales. Although she appeared to be kind, Jenny had a malevolent personality. The malevolent man acted deceitfully and _____________. The malevolent act was unkind because ____________.

malfeasance mal-fea-sance noun Wrongdoing or bad conduct by a public official

The mayor was sued for malfeasance after he stole millions of dollars. In voting for a candidate, we should check for any prior malfeasance. A politician can show malfeasance by ___________. It is a bad example to act with Malfeasance because _______.

malice mal-ice noun Mischief; evil intent; bad will

Chloe’s face displayed a total lack of malice even as she purposely tripped the other child. Snow White’s evil stepmother had malice in her heart when she summoned the huntsman. If you start to feel malice, you should ___. Acting with malice can cause ____ because _____.

malignant ma-lig-nant (adjective) harmful; something bad enough that could result in death when related to cancer malignant

The doctor’s face revealed that the tumor was malignant. The surgeon immediately scheduled surgery to remove the malignant tumor. Having malignant thoughts are harmful because ________. It is not helpful to have a malignant attitude because ______.

mal-nour-ished adjective malnourished having bad health or having poor nutrition malnourished

What can we do to help malnourished children all over the world? Many benefactors donate money to organizations that help malnourished people. Eating ______ and ______ can help you not be malnourished. It is rare for Americans to be malnourished because _______.

mal-o-dor-ous adjective bad smell; stinky malodorous

While walking her dogs, Cindy was offended by the malodorous stench coming from the trash cans. After playing outside all day, James took a shower to remove his malodorous odor. The house smelled malodorous when ___________. The locker room smelled malodorous because _________.