What does the prefix mal- mean?
Mal- comes from the Latin malus, which means "bad". It shows that something is deficient, wrong or harmful. It is the opposite of bene-, which means "well".
ESEN
Prefix · bad / deficient / wrong
mal-
Signals something bad, deficient, or wrong: malfunction, malnutrition, malpractice, malice.
Literary
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Mal- in medicine and law
Mal- is especially productive in medicine and law, where you need to name precisely what is badly done or harmful. Even the word malaria has its origin here: it literally meant "bad air", because people used to believe the disease came from the air of the swamps. When you see mal- in a word, the negative meaning is almost always obvious.
How it is used
Attaches to nouns and verbs:
- mal- + function/processfunction → malfunctionnutrition → malnutritionpractice → malpracticetreatment → maltreatment
- mal- + condition/attributeice → maliceicious → maliciousodorous → malodorousign → malignignant → malignant
Pronunciation: /mæl/. Written without a hyphen in modern English.
How it is pronounced
mal-/mæl/
Tap the button to hear how the prefix sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
Examples
Root word
With mal-
In a phrase
- functionmalfunctionThe plane landed early due to a malfunction in the engine system.
- nutritionmalnutritionChildren with malnutrition are more vulnerable to disease and delays.
- practicemalpracticeThe surgeon was sued for malpractice after operating on the wrong knee.
- icemaliceThe jury found the defendant acted with malice and gave the maximum sentence.
- treatmentmaltreatmentThe charity investigates and prosecutes cases of animal maltreatment.
- iciousmaliciousShe reported the user who sent her malicious, threatening messages.
- ignantmalignantThe biopsy confirmed the tumour was malignant, so treatment started right away.
Common mistakes
malicious and malice are the same word
malice = the noun (the intent to cause harm); malicious = the adjective (acting with intent to harm)
"Malice" = the harmful intent itself: "He acted with malice." "Malicious" = the adjective describing a person or act driven by that intent: "a malicious attack." They are different grammatical forms of the same concept.
malaria = "bad air" is just a metaphor
malaria literally comes from Italian "mala aria" (bad air) because swamp vapours were believed to cause the disease
"Malaria" comes from Italian "mala aria" (bad air). Before the Plasmodium parasite was discovered in the nineteenth century, the illness was attributed to the vapours of swamps and marshes. Mal- here comes from the same Latin root "malus" (bad).
A trick to remember it
Think of a malfunction, something that goes wrong: mal- = bad, faulty. malfunction, malnutrition.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"Children suffering from ___ lack essential nutrients and are more vulnerable to disease and cognitive delays."
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
Why is the disease "malaria" named as it is?
Frequently asked questions
What does the prefix mal- mean in English?
The prefix mal- signals something bad, deficient, or wrong: malfunction, malnutrition, malpractice, malice.
How do you pronounce mal-?
The prefix mal- is pronounced /mæl/. For example, "malfunction".
Can you give an example of a word with mal-?
"function" becomes "malfunction". It is a typical example of the mal- prefix.
Other useful prefixes
Learn every English prefix
un-, re-, pre-, dis-, over-, in-... every beginning you need to unlock thousands of English words at once.