Malaise
/mæˈleɪz/
nounC1
Definition
Malaise is a feeling when someone feels weak, tired, or not well, but they cannot say exactly what is wrong. It is often the first sign that a person might be getting sick or that something is not right in their body or mind. It can also describe a general sense of worry or unhappiness in a group or society.
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See It in Action
A general feeling of discomfort or being unwell
- •She felt malaise before catching a cold.
- •Malaise is often the first sign of infection.
- •After the long flight, he experienced malaise and fatigue.
A general sense of unease or dissatisfaction in a group or society
- •The country is suffering from economic malaise.
- •There is a malaise among the workers about the new rules.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "malaise" like "sick" (A1 word), but without clear pain or a specific problem—just a vague feeling something is wrong
- ✓Picture feeling tired and uncomfortable in your body, like when you want to rest but don’t know why
- ✓It's the feeling you get on a bad day when everything feels a little off, but you can’t say exactly what
- ✓Sounds like "mah-LAZE" → imagine laziness mixed with feeling "meh" or low energy inside your body
- ✓Think about a story where a character feels strange and uneasy before getting sick or before a problem starts
- ✓NOT like "pain" (clear and strong feeling in one place), malaise is weak and spread out, hard to describe
- ✓NOT like "depression" (deep sadness), malaise is more about physical discomfort or general unease
- ✓NOT like "illness" (specific disease), malaise is the general feeling before you know what illness it is
Try Other Words
- •Unease: feeling worried or uncomfortable (Use when talking about feelings of worry or nervousness)
- •Discomfort: feeling slight pain or being physically or mentally uncomfortable (Use when the problem is clearer or more physical)
- •Fatigue: feeling very tired (Use when tiredness is the main feeling)
- •Illness: a disease or sickness (Use when the cause of feeling bad is known)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: none clearly separated; "mal-" is a prefix meaning "bad" in Latin, and "-aise" relates to condition or state
- •Etymology: From French "malaise," from Old French, from Latin "male habitus" meaning "bad condition"
- •Historical development: Originally used in French to describe a bad or uncomfortable state, adopted into English in the 19th century
- •Modern usage: Used in medicine and everyday language to describe a vague feeling of being unwell or a general problem in society
Reflect & Connect
•How might you describe your own feelings if you experience malaise but don’t have clear symptoms?
•Can malaise in a society or group be as important as malaise in a person’s body? Why or why not?
Fill in the blanks
1.When someone feels malaise, they often cannot ___ exactly what is wrong with their body.
2.Malaise can be a first sign of ___, even before clear symptoms appear.
3.The feeling of malaise is different from pain because it is ___ and hard to describe.
4.Workers expressed malaise about the new rules, showing they felt ___ but not angry.
5.Malaise often comes with tiredness and a general sense of ___.
6.If a person only feels tired, it is called fatigue, but malaise includes ___ feelings too.
7.People sometimes say a country has malaise when its economy or politics ___ problems.