What does malinger mean?
Malinger means to pretend to be ill, injured, or physically unable to fulfil a duty. The deception is normally deliberate and intended to avoid work, military service, an examination, or another obligation. The word is used particularly in military, medical, legal, and employment settings, where an accusation of malingering can affect a person's reputation, employment, or legal status. Malingering is more specific than generally shirking responsibility: it specifically involves feigning illness or incapacity. The term is also commonly used as a noun in the form “malingering,” and related forms include the rare noun “malingerer” for someone who feigns illness. Although the verb may occur in ordinary conversation, it has a relatively formal and institutional tone. The word is useful because it identifies a particular kind of deception in which apparent physical incapacity serves as an excuse to avoid an obligation.
verbTo pretend to be ill, injured, or otherwise unable to work or perform a duty, especially in order to avoid responsibility.
- To pretend to be ill, injured, or incapable in order to avoid work, military service, or another obligation.
"The employee was accused of malingering after repeatedly requesting medical leave."
"Several soldiers were dismissed after being found to be malingering."
"Her repeated absence from work looked increasingly like malingering to her employer."
Malingering turns the body into a passport out of duty.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of malinger
The word entered English in the early 18th century from French, where the related form malingre meant sickly or ailing. Its internal French development is associated with mal, meaning “bad,” although the precise formation of the suffix is uncertain. The modern English meaning developed from earlier senses involving illness or physical incapacity into the specific sense of feigning such a condition to avoid duty.
Related word forms
How malinger is actually used
The word is especially common in military, medical, legal, and employment contexts. It is accusatory and implies deliberate deception rather than genuine illness.