malignant adj

1 dangerous to health; characterized by progressive and uncontrolled growth (especially of a tumor) [ant: benign]

2 extremely malevolent or malicious; "the malignant tongues of gossipers" [syn: malevolent]

English

Pronunciation

• /məˈlɪgnənt/

Adjective

1. Harmful, malevolent, injurious.
2. Harmfully cancerous; as, a malignant tumor.

Related terms

• nonmalignant

Translations

Malignant (from the Latin roots mal- = "bad" and -genus = "born") is a medical term used to describe a severe and progressively worsening disease. The term is most familiar as a description of cancer. A malignant tumor may be contrasted with a non-cancerous benign tumor in that a malignancy is not self-limited in its growth, is capable of invading into adjacent tissues, and may be capable of spreading to distant tissues (metastasizing), while a benign tumor has none of those properties. Uses of "malignant" in oncology:

• Malignancy, malignant neoplasm, and malignant tumor are synonymous with cancer
• Malignant ascites
• Malignant transformation

Non-oncologic disorders referred to as "malignant":

• Malignant hypertension
• Malignant hyperthermia
• Malignant otitis externa
• Malignant tertian malaria (Malaria caused specifically by Plasmodium falciparum)
• Neuroleptic malignant syndrome''

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