Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

maleficence

/məˈlɛfɪsəns/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.23 in modern English

Syllables
malef-i-cence
IPA
/məˈlɛfɪsəns/
20
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

harmfulness or mischief.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

From Italian maleficenza or Middle French maleficence or directly from Latin maleficentia.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: maleficenza, maleficence, maleficentia

Usage

Inflected Forms

maleficences (plural)

Derived Forms

nonmaleficence

Frequently Paired Words

feasance malefactor maleficent malfeasance malfeasant misfeasance nonfeasance

Synonyms

mischief balefulness

Antonyms

beneficence nonmaleficence

Questions

How do you pronounce maleficence?
The recorded pronunciation is /məˈlɛfɪsəns/.
What does maleficence mean?
harmfulness or mischief.
Where does maleficence come from?
It is traced to Italian.

How to pronounce maleficence

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “maleficence”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/məˈlɛfɪsəns/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “maleficence”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “maleficence” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.