Malcolm Boyd
Did you know?
A recipe: combine a handful of the blahs, a pinch of the blues, and maybe a soupçon of ennui, season generously with “under the weather,” and voila, you’ve got yourself the stew of sinking sensations known as malaise. Malaise, whose Old French ancestor was formed from the combination of mal (“bad”) and aise (“comfort”), has been a part of English since the mid-18th century. It originally referred to a vague feeling of weakness or discomfort accompanying the onset of an illness—a meaning still in use today when a virus or other malady starts producing symptoms—but has since broadened to cover a general, ominous sense of mental or moral ill-being.
Examples of malaise in a Sentence
Megan Feringa, New York Times, 16 May 2025
In his view there was only one culprit to then blame—general malaise unrelated to the brand or its products.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 13 May 2025
That’s down to the potential for disruptions to oil export routes and lower demand for it in the event of wider global economic malaise.
—Gaurav Sharma, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
Through pushing both, Subianto hopes to ensure that Indonesia is not easily swayed by foreign influence and can avoid domestic discontent due to any economic malaise.
—Gilang Kembara, The Conversation, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for malaise
Cite this Entry
“Malaise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malaise. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share