From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmalicemal‧ice /ˈmælɪs/ noun [uncountable] 1 CRUELthe desire to harm someone because you hate themwith malice His eyes gleamed with malice.sheer/pure malice She did it out of sheer malice. James bore her no malice (=did not feel any malice towards her).2 → with malice aforethought
Examples from the Corpus
malice• Since this is such an action, the rule requiring proof of actual malice is applicable...• And, of course, that is rarely true; most of the time there is no malice.• There was no malice in his voice, no sign of rage.• There was no malice, no reproach.• We bear you no malice and hope that when you leave our valley your journey is a good one.• Then, being human, he indulges in a spurt of malice.• She saw those cold eyes turn towards her, caught a gleam of pure malice.• Hagen's voice brims with malice as he plots his revenge.bore ... malice• He was a gentleman doing his job and I bore him no malice.• Apparently the elderly Renoir bore Modigliani no malice.• The predatory spirits, on the other hand, are described as if they bore actual malice toward humans.Origin malice (1300-1400) Old French Latin malitia, from malus “bad” 