malice
n.the wish to hurt or upset someone on purpose. You use this when someone does something bad because they want to be mean, not by mistake.
n.the intention or desire to cause harm, pain, or distress to another person. In legal contexts, it refers to the state of mind required for certain crimes, indicating a conscious intent to do wrong.
“He did not act out of malice.”
“The judge ruled that the defendant acted with malice, as he had planned the attack weeks in advance.”
“While the criticism was harsh, it appeared to be born of genuine concern for the project's success rather than any personal malice toward the lead architect.”
Commonly follows the preposition 'with' or 'out of'.
“It applies to unlawful killings committed with malice or extreme recklessness, but without prior planning.”
From Middle English malice, borrowed from Old French malice, from Latin malitia (“badness, bad quality, ill-will, spite”), from malus (“bad”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.