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mal-
(MAL)bad or wrong
Latin for bad. Anything mal- is going wrong: malfunction, malware, malicious.
prefixLatin
Good, bad, with, againstSpellings:malmale
Example words
malfunction
to work badly
malicious
meaning to do harm
malnourished
badly fed — not getting enough good food
Common Core alignment
Grades served: 6, 7
- L.6.4bUse common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).
- L.7.4bUse common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel).
Related roots
Good, bad, with, against. Roots that judge or pair things up: good, bad, together, opposed.
Browse all good, bad, with, against roots →L.6.4bL.7.4b