Malfeasance

noun (uncountable; also countable as 'a malfeasance')

/mælˈfiːzəns/

The commission of an unlawful act, especially by a public official — specifically, the doing of something that the officeholder has no right to do and that is positively wrongful. In administrative law, malfeasance is distinguished from misfeasance (lawful act done improperly) and nonfeasance (failure to act). The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended 2018) addresses malfeasance by public servants through criminal penalties. In UPSC case-study questions, malfeasance typically involves a civil servant accepting bribes, forging records, or abusing official position for personal gain.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The CBI chargesheet alleged systematic malfeasance in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme implementation, with muster rolls fabricated to siphon funds meant for rural wage-workers in three Jharkhand districts.

Synonyms

wrongdoingmisconductmisdeedcorruptionabuse of officevillainy

Antonyms

lawfulnessprobityrectitudeintegritynonfeasance

🌱 Word Family

malfeasant (adjective/noun), misfeasance (noun), nonfeasance (noun), malfeasor (rare noun)

🔡 Root

Old French mal- = badly, wrongly + faisance = doing (from faire = to do, from Latin facere)

📜 Etymology

From Anglo-French malfaisance, entering English legal vocabulary in the 17th century. The Old French mal (badly) derives from Latin malus (bad, evil), and faisance comes from faire (to do), rooted in Latin facere (to make, do). The term was primarily a legal term distinguishing wrongful official acts from simple negligence or omission, and entered common administrative parlance through 18th-century English common law.

🧠 Memory Hook

MAL (bad) + FEASANCE (doing): Malfeasance is BAD DOING by someone in power. Compare 'malnutrition' (bad nutrition), 'malice' (bad intent) — all 'mal-' words are bad. A public official committing malfeasance is doing something BAD that their office should never do.

🧭 Ethics & Integrity 📖 Seen in: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude — Complet...

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