I grant him bloody, . . . Sudden, malicious,
smacking of every sin That has a name. --Shak.
2. Proceeding from hatred or ill will; dictated by malice;
as, a malicious report; malicious mischief.
3. (Law)With wicked or mischievous intentions or motives;
wrongful and done intentionally without just cause or
excuse; as, a malicious act.
{Malicious abandonment}, the desertion of a wife or husband
without just cause. --Burrill.
{Malicious mischief} (Law), malicious injury to the property
of another; -- an offense at common law. --Wharton.
{Malicious prosecution} or {arrest} (Law), a wanton
prosecution or arrest, by regular process in a civil or
criminal proceeding, without probable cause. --Bouvier.
Syn: Ill-disposed; evil-minded; mischievous; envious;
malevolent; invidious; spiteful; bitter; malignant;
rancorous; malign. -- {Ma*li"cious*ly}, adv. --
{Ma*li"cious*ness}, n.
As the arrest of the air showeth. --Bacon.
2. (Law) The taking or apprehending of a person by authority
of law; legal restraint; custody. Also, a decree, mandate,
or warrant.
William . . . ordered him to be put under arrest.
--Macaulay.
[Our brother Norway] sends out arrests On
Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys. --Shak.
Note: An arrest may be made by seizing or touching the body;
but it is sufficient in the party be within the power
of the officer and submit to the arrest. In Admiralty
law, and in old English practice, the term is applied
to the seizure of property.
3. Any seizure by power, physical or moral.
The sad stories of fire from heaven, the burning of
his sheep, etc., . . . were sad arrests to his
troubled spirit. --Jer. Taylor.
4. (Far.) A scurfiness of the back part of the hind leg of a
horse; -- also named rat-tails. --White.
{Arrest of judgment} (Law), the staying or stopping of a
judgment, after verdict, for legal cause. The motion for
this purpose is called a motion in arrest of judgment.
Nor could her virtues the relentless hand Of Death
arrest. --Philips.
2. (Law) To take, seize, or apprehend by authority of law;
as, to arrest one for debt, or for a crime.
Note: After this word Shakespeare uses of (``I arrest thee of
high treason'') or on; the modern usage is for.
3. To seize on and fix; to hold; to catch; as, to arrest the
eyes or attention. --Buckminster.
4. To rest or fasten; to fix; to concentrate. [Obs.]
We may arrest our thoughts upon the divine mercies.
--Jer. Taylor.
Syn: To obstruct; delay; detain; check; hinder; stop;
apprehend; seize; lay hold of.