By Whitney Bell
Malignant
(adjective. /mal-IG-nant/)
What does it mean?
In science, the word “malignant” can be defined as cancerous. This word is often used to describe tumors whose cells are abnormal, invasive, fast-growing, and have the ability to metastasize (spread) to other parts of the body and cause life-threatening disease.
Image of malignant tumor characteristics.
How do I use it in a sentence?
The biopsy confirmed the doctor’s suspicion that the tumor was malignant.
Etymology:This term is derived from the Latin words malignantem, meaning “acting from malice,”and malignus, meaning “wicked, bad-natured.”. Mal is the Latin root for “bad” and is combined with ignus, which is the Latin root for “born” or “beget.”
Related terms: Cancer, benign, tumor, metastatic
Fields of study in which this word is commonly used: Oncology, pathology, cancer biology, cell biology