malcontent
/ˈmal.kən.tɛnt/
malcontent means dissatisfied with current conditions; disaffected, discontented, rebellious. It carries an Arena rating of 1667, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, malcontent ranks #69 of 13,217 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #566 of 13,217 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,009 of 13,217 for Most Elegant Words, #2,325 of 13,217 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
malcontent is pronounced /ˈmal.kən.tɛnt/.
Why “malcontent” is a great word
A person chronically dissatisfied with prevailing conditions, especially authority, and often inclined toward active resentment or rebellion. From Middle French malcontent, from mal- ("badly, ill") + content ("content, satisfied"). Unlike "discontented," which suggests a temporary or personal unease, or a "complainer," who voices transient grievances, a malcontent nurses a deep, systemic grudge that curdles into identity. It is the fixed, smoldering glare across the council chamber; the meticulously annotated list of grievances kept in a locked drawer; the pamphleteer’s ink-stained fingers, worn from writing manifestos by candlelight—the permanent shadow in the architecture of any state.
Etymology
From Middle French malcontent, from mal- + content; compare Late Latin malecontentus.
adj
- Dissatisfied with current conditions; disaffected, discontented, rebellious.“[Alban] Butler also commends the piety of Simon Montfort, the persecutor of the Albigenses, and the father of the famous malcontent earl of Leicester, who flourished in the reign of king Henry III.”
noun
- A person who is not satisfied with current conditions; a discontented person, a rebel.“The diſcord rather than the muſick is heard from the malcontent Malevole's chamber.”
- A state of discontentment or dissatisfaction; something that causes discontent.“If there was malcontent on his part, it did not spring from economic limitations alone, but also from the effect of these economic limitations upon his social and legal status as a small farmer. The state of constant indebtdness in which the contadino found himself contributed to his malcontent.”
verb
- To cause discontent or dissatisfaction.“[…] James Bond adventure with a Ward Bond delivery, reams of malcontenting and anti-literary remarks, first-class manipulation of Anglo-Saxon's juicier words, and quotations from the Great Books and from William Kite's notebook.”
Words closest in meaning
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