maleficium.

Harm attributed to the use of witchcraft or malicious magic.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• an accusation of maleficium
• alleged maleficium
• a charge of maleficium

On the page

The failed harvest became evidence of maleficium in the testimony of her neighbors.

The magistrate demanded a name before he would record the alleged maleficium.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror. Forms: Usually uncountable; plural maleficia in historical discussion of particular alleged acts. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.