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Literary notes about malicious (AI summary)

The term "malicious" often conveys not only the idea of gross animosity but also a subtle, scheming ill-intent that permeates both character and circumstance in literature. It is used to depict characters whose actions are driven by spite and vindictiveness, whether through overt wickedness or a quietly subversive sense of humor, as seen in portrayals of nefarious individuals and cunning tricksters ([1], [2], [3]). At times, it marks actions that are legally or morally reproachable, hinting at deliberate efforts to harm or manipulate others ([4], [5]). In other instances, the word acquires an almost supernatural aura, lending an air of otherworldly mischief or malevolent design to spirits, curses, or enchanted beings ([6], [7]). This versatility allows "malicious" to function as a powerful descriptor that enriches narratives by highlighting the darker, more complex aspects of human and cosmic intent.
  1. This, my Pamela, is the Sally Godfrey, this malicious woman, with the worst intentions, has informed you of.
    — from Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson
  2. Standing in the doorway, he scanned the company, and laughing his prolonged, impudent, malicious chuckle, looked them all boldly in the face.
    — from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  3. Mr. Vyse was a tease—something worse than a tease: he took a malicious pleasure in thwarting people.
    — from A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
  4. I mean the action for malicious prosecution.
    — from The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes
  5. A similar requirement was laid down with regard to the defence of probable cause in an action for malicious prosecution.
    — from The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes
  6. sg. dyrnan cräfte, with secret magic art , 2291 ; dyrnum cräfte, 2169 ; gen. pl. dyrnra gâsta, of malicious spirits (of Grendel's kin), 1358 .—Comp.
    — from I. Beówulf: an Anglo-Saxon poem. II. The fight at Finnsburh: a fragment.
  7. "Then some malicious god conveyed Ulysses to the upland farm where his swineherd lives.
    — from The Odyssey by Homer

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