Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A vague feeling of bodily discomfort, as at the beginning of an illness.
- n. A general sense of depression or unease: "One year after the crash, the markets remain mired in a deep malaise” ( New York Times).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Uneasiness; discomfort; specifically, an indefinite feeling of uneasiness, often a preliminary symptom of a serious malady.
Wiktionary
- n. A feeling of general bodily discomfort, fatigue or unpleasantness, often at the onset of illness.
- n. An ambiguous feeling of mental or moral depression.
- n. Ill will or hurtful feelings for others or someone.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An indefinite feeling of uneasiness, or of being sick or ill at ease.
WordNet 3.0
- n. physical discomfort (as mild sickness or depression)
Etymologies
- French, from Old French : mal-, mal- + aise, ease; see ease.
Examples
“* Carter did not use the word malaise in his politically disastrous televised speech of July 15, 1979.”
“And another thing too - when a malaise is as commonplace as 'street harassment/eve teasing' is, we become somewhat indifferent to it.”
“A pledge for a better tomorrow, a commitment by African leaders to liberate the continent from what they call a malaise of underdevelopment and exclusion.”
“Ronald Reagan seized on that malaise message - worth noting that the word "malaise" never appeared in Carter's speech - and cast himself as an optimist who believed the best times were still ahead for the country.”
The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post
“Jimmy Carter's "malaise" speech - one in which the word malaise does not, curiously enough, appear - was delivered 30 years ago, on July 15, 1979.”
WN.com - Articles related to Online job activity takes step back
“One wonders if the hiring of some of our young people with the best computational skills by the financial industry that contributed so much to our current malaise is something to celebrate.”
“Institute President Mark Baldassare said voters are not moved by any of the candidates for major office this year, and their malaise is reflected in the high number of undecided voters.”
The Huffington Post: California Elections: Polls Find Close Races For Governor, Senate
“What Mortimer Zuckerman fails to say in his excellent critique of the housing malaise is the downside of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.”
The Wall Street Journal: Housing Market Needs To Bottom Out to Rise
“Further, the usual second-term malaise could end up making the Obama-Clinton administration unpopular as she goes into the 2016 campaign.”
“But Stewart's coarse attempt at diagnosing the nation's malaise is at its core about denigrating the value of public protest.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘malaise’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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Loan words from French
gite, coq au vin, dernier cri, clique, hors d'œuvre, touché, naïve, coquette, bourgeois, contretemps, flâneur, film noir and 63 more...
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Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Down in the dumps, feeling blue? Here, then, is a list for you...
feeling blue, down in the dumps, blue devils, mulligrubs, mubblefubbles, melancholy, lugubrious, gloomy gus, eeyore, doleful, woeful, woebegone and 86 more...
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English with Tongue
French words and phrases used by English speakers.
objet d'art, nom de plume, petite, bon voyage, avant-garde, faux pas, faux, touché, répondez, s'il vo..., rouge, papier mâché, joie de vivre and 85 more...
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General Fun Ones

tchaymore "The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament." -- Dr. Evil Mar 5, 2012
hernesheir Might go good on "brains and eggs" that I've seen on menus in rural diners in the deep south of the USA. Nov 6, 2009
bilby A bad sauce made in Kuala Lumpur. Nov 6, 2009
jorge999 'malaise' ... a bad sauce Nov 6, 2009
andrew.simone not to be confused with the sandwich dressing. Dec 7, 2006