κᾰκοήθ-εια G2550
malice, malignity, ill will; bad disposition or character
This noun denotes a vicious or malignant disposition—the active desire to harm others, not from passion but from settled ill will. In Romans 1:29, it appears in Paul's catalog of human depravity: filled with 'envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness (kakoētheias).' The term describes not impulsive wrongdoing but calculated malevolence, a habitually hostile orientation toward others. It is wickedness with cunning, the disposition that takes pleasure in others' pain and devises evil deliberately.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Paul lists kakoētheia among the vices characterizing humanity under God's wrath. The Spanish 'malignidad' and French 'malice' both capture the deliberate ill will involved. This is not hot-tempered violence but cold malevolence—the mindset that plots harm, interprets others uncharitably, and rejoices in wrongdoing. It reflects a heart turned not just away from God but actively against one's neighbor, a corruption deeper than individual sins because it describes a malignant character orientation. 1×
AR["سوءَ-طَوِيَّةٍ"]·ben["দুরভিসন্ধি;"]·DE["Arglist"]·EN["of-maliciousness"]·FR["malice"]·heb["זְדוֹן"]·HI["दुर्भाव-से"]·ID["kedengkian;"]·IT["cattiva-abitudine"]·jav["awon-watak;"]·KO["악의"]·PT["de-malignidade"]·RU["злонравия"]·ES["de-malignidad"]·SW["uovu;"]·TR["kötü-niyetlilikle"]·urd["بدنیتی-سے"]
Related Senses
H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)H7563 1. wicked person (259×)H7451c 1. moral evil or wickedness (234×)H5771 1. iniquity, sin, wrongdoing (222×)H6662 1. righteous person (substantive) (195×)G0266 1. sin, failure, transgression (173×)H2403b 1. sin, transgression (170×)H2617a 1. Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love (167×)H2398 1. Qal: to sin, commit sin (165×)H6666 1. righteousness, moral uprightness (145×)G5485 1. grace, divine favor (141×)H7451a 1. morally evil, wicked (129×)H2403b 2. sin-offering, sacrifice for sin (120×)G2570 1. good, right, excellent (98×)H6588 1. transgression, offense against God (88×)G0018 1. good (moral quality) (85×)H2896b 1. good, what is good (85×)H7451b 1. evil, wickedness (moral) (83×)H7451a 2. evil, harm, calamity (80×)G1342 1. righteous, upright (of persons) (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
κᾰκοήθ-εια, Ionic dialect -ιη, ἡ, bad disposition, malignity, Refs 5th c.BC+ (-ηθία), NT+5th c.BC+ __II bad manners or habits, Refs 5th c.BC+ __III in Medicine texts, malignant character, τῆς νόσου Refs 4th c.BC+: in plural, malignant diseases or growths, Refs 1st c.AD+