malignancy

malignancy
    n 1: (medicine) a malignant state; progressive and resistant to
         treatment and tending to cause death [syn: {malignancy},
         {malignance}]
    2: quality of being disposed to evil; intense ill will [syn:
       {malignity}, {malignancy}, {malignance}] [ant: {benignancy},
       {benignity}, {graciousness}]
    

Malignance \Ma*lig"nance\, Malignancy \Ma*lig"nan*cy\, n. [See
   {Malignant}.]
   1. The state or quality of being malignant; extreme
      malevolence; bitter enmity; malice; disposition toward
      evil; intense ill will; as, malignancy of heart.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Unfavorableness; evil nature.
      [1913 Webster]

            The malignancy of my fate might perhaps distemner
            yours.                                --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Med.) Virulence; tendency to a fatal issue; as, the
      malignancy of an ulcer or of a fever.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Hence: (Med.) A cancerous tumor that is spreading beyond
      the point of origin.

   Syn: malignant tumor, malignant neoplasm, metastatic tumor.
        [WordNet 1.5]

   5. The state of being a malignant.
      [1913 Webster]
    

56 Moby Thesaurus words for "malignancy":
      balefulness, banefulness, bitchiness, communicability,
      contagiousness, cussedness, deadliness, despite, destructiveness,
      detrimentalness, devilment, devilry, deviltry, evil intent,
      fatality, grudge, harmfulness, hatefulness, hurtfulness, ill will,
      infectiousness, infectivity, iniquitousness, injuriousness,
      invidiousness, lethality, maleficence, malevolence, malice,
      malice aforethought, malice prepense, maliciousness, malignance,
      malignity, meanness, mischievousness, mortality, nastiness,
      noisomeness, noxiousness, ominousness, orneriness, perniciousness,
      poison, poisonousness, spite, spitefulness, spleen, toxicity,
      unhealthiness, venom, venomousness, viciousness, virulence,
      virulency, wickedness