Malcolm Boyd
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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
Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2024
He was struck by the way the film depicted post-college malaise and melancholy and the awkwardness of meeting new people.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2024
The company is on more stable footing than Yoox or Net-a-porter and has managed to transcend the malaise permeating much of the luxury sector.
—David Moin, WWD, 3 Oct. 2024
In this manner, Father Charlie speaks as much for the Ryan Murphy TV empire as for the audience, which may want to be above this malaise but invariably ends up wallowing in it.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for malaise 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'malaise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Malaise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malaise. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.
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