1. mal, male
= bad; abnormal;
worse

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

3. 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 ___________.

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

5. 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
________.

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

7. 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.

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

9. 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 ___________.

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

11. 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
____________.

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

13. 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 _______.

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

15. 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 _____.

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

17. 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 ______.

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

19. 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 _______.

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

21. 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 _________.