Skip to main content
Back to dictionary

mal-

(MAL)

bad or wrong

Latin for bad. Anything mal- is going wrong: malfunction, malware, malicious.

Spellings:malmale

Example words

  • malfunction

    to work badly

  • malicious

    meaning to do harm

  • malnourished

    badly fed — not getting enough good food

Who it is for

Grades served: 6, 7

Level 2Level 1 holds the word parts students meet first. Level 3 holds the ones that turn up in harder reading.

Related roots

Good, bad, with, against. Roots that judge or pair things up: good, bad, together, opposed.

Browse all good, bad, with, against roots →
Feedback?