[FONT=arial, helvetica]Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2007 is:
malign • \muh-LYNE\ • verb
: to utter injuriously misleading or false reports about : speak evil of

Example sentence:
Critics have relentlessly maligned the mayor since rumors of bribery surfaced, even though she has successfully revitalized the downtown shopping district.

Did you know?
When a word's got "mal-" in it, it's no good. That prefix traces to the Latin word "malus" (which means "bad"), and it puts the negative vibes in "malign" and a host of other English words. You can see it in "malpractice" (bad medical practice) and "malady" (a bad condition, such as a disease or illness, of the body or mind). A "malefactor" is someone guilty of bad deeds, and "malice" is a desire to cause injury, pain, or distress to another person. Other "mal-" formed words include "malaise," "malcontent," "maladroit," "malodorous," and "malnourished."


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