Malfeasance is the intentional wrongdoing or illegal activity by a person in a position of authority. It denotes dereliction of duty through corrupt or illegal acts, typically in public office, that breaches the public trust and is punishable by law. The term emphasizes misconduct beyond mere incompetence, often involving deceit or fraud.
"The governor was removed from office after allegations of malfeasance in the bond program."
"Journalists investigated allegations of malfeasance within the city’s procurement department."
"The board dismissed the official due to evidence of malfeasance and financial impropriety."
"Citizens demanded accountability after reports of malfeasance involving grant money."
Malfeasance comes from the French mal ? and Latin facere, meaning ‘to do badly’ or ‘to do wrong.’ The prefix mal- signals wrong or ill, and -feasance derives from facere in Old French as facere, altered in Medieval Latin to facere and then fease, with the sense of doing or making. The modern sense—wrongdoing, especially by someone in a position of public trust—emerged in legal and political discourse in the 17th–18th centuries, aligning with terms like malefactor and malfeasant. First known English uses appear in the 1600s in legal contexts, expanding in the 18th and 19th centuries as bureaucratic and political corruption became a topic of public concern. The word has remained specialized, carrying a formal, prosecutorial nuance that distinguishes it from general misconduct.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Malfeasance" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Malfeasance"
-nce sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce it with three syllables: mal-FEAS-ance. The primary stress is on the second syllable. IPA: US/UK/AUS /ˌmælˈfiːz.əns/. Start with /m/, tongue at the bottom behind the teeth, add /æ/ as in 'cat', then glide into /fiː/ with a long E, followed by /z/ and a schwa /ə/, and end with /ns/. Visualize a gentle, elongated FEAS to emphasize the root meaning. Listen to native speech for rhythm.
Common errors include: misplacing stress on the first syllable (mal-FEAS-ance should be second-syllable stressed), mispronouncing the long /iː/ as /ɪ/ (pronouncing fea- as /fiːs/ or /fiəs/ is incorrect), and adding an extra /l/ or /æ/ sound. Correction: keep /ˌmælˈfiːz.əns/ with the long /iː/ in FEAS and the final /əns/ cluster, avoiding epenthetic vowels. Practice with minimal pairs to lock the stress and vowel quality.
In US/UK/AU, the primary stress remains on the second syllable: mal-FEAS-ance. US tends to keep /æ/ as in 'pal' in the first syllable, while UK and AU maintain /æ/ with a clear /l/ before it. The /ˈfiː/ vowel remains a long E in all, but rhotic accents may pronounce the /r/ differently in connected speech; however 'malfeasance' is typically non-rhotic in British and Australian contexts. Overall, the main difference is vowel quality and tempo rather than stress.
Two main challenges: a) the long /iː/ in FEAS requires precise jaw opening and tongue height to avoid a lax /i/; b) the /z/ followed by a syllabic or unstressed /ə/ can make the ending tricky when speaking quickly. Also the cluster /z.əns/ can reduce in fast speech, turning to /zən(s)/. Focus on keeping the long /iː/ clear and maintaining the /z/ followed by crisp /ə/ before the /ns/ ending.
Unique question example: Is the 'feas' in malfeasance related to 'feasible' or 'feasibility'? The root relates to Latin facere (to make/do), via French mal- + faire, meaning 'to do badly.' It is not directly related to feasible in modern usage, though they share the same root in 'facere.' The pronunciation of FEAS remains /fiːz/ in this word, with the syllabic break mal-FEAS-ance.
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