From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmalaisema‧laise /məˈleɪz, mæ-/ noun [singular, uncountable] formal 1 WORRIEDa general problem that is difficult to describe in an exact way a general malaise within society2 MIa general feeling that you are slightly ill or not happy in your life
Examples from the Corpus
malaise• The first sign of illness is a malaise no worse than influenza.• It is a malaise that affects both intellectuals and the masses.• There is a restlessness, a malaise, among the workers.• economic malaise• These include general malaise, vision problems, and increases in anxiety and insomnia.• They can also help a floundering organization extricate itself from the depths of a self-inflicted malaise.• Many wanted to share their strange feelings of malaise.• Conversely, when a nation begins to see itself historically and destroys its mythology, the result is secularization and spiritual malaise.• The malaise had spread countrywide however.Origin malaise (1700-1800) French mal- ( → MAL-) + aise “comfort” 