Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A vague feeling of bodily discomfort, as at the beginning of an illness.
  • noun A general sense of depression or unease.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Uneasiness; discomfort; specifically, an indefinite feeling of uneasiness, often a preliminary symptom of a serious malady.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) An indefinite feeling of uneasiness, or of being sick or ill at ease.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A feeling of general bodily discomfort, fatigue or unpleasantness, often at the onset of illness.
  • noun An ambiguous feeling of mental or moral depression.
  • noun Ill will or hurtful feelings for others or someone.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun physical discomfort (as mild sickness or depression)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Old French : mal-, mal- + aise, ease; see ease.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the French malaise ("ill ease"), from mal ("bad") + aise ("ease"). Compare ill at ease.

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Examples

  • * Carter did not use the word malaise in his politically disastrous televised speech of July 15, 1979.

    The Great Experiment Strobe Talbott 2008

  • And another thing too - when a malaise is as commonplace as 'street harassment/eve teasing' is, we become somewhat indifferent to it.

    Archive 2006-03-01 2006

  • 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.

    CNN Transcript Feb 2, 2002 2002

  • 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 Chris Cillizza 2011

  • 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 2009

  • 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.

    Letters to the Editor 2010

  • 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.

    California Elections: Polls Find Close Races For Governor, Senate AP 2010

  • 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.

    California Elections: Polls Find Close Races For Governor, Senate AP 2010

  • 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.

    Letters to the Editor 2010

  • 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.

    Letters to the Editor 2010

Comments

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  • not to be confused with the sandwich dressing.

    December 7, 2006

  • 'malaise' ... a bad sauce

    November 6, 2009

  • A bad sauce made in Kuala Lumpur.

    November 6, 2009

  • Might go good on "brains and eggs" that I've seen on menus in rural diners in the deep south of the USA.

    November 6, 2009

  • "The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament." -- Dr. Evil

    March 6, 2012

  • "malaise days" by po' girl, great song!

    December 22, 2015