Glossary · Nouns · M
L1 — paginated flat list. Pick a POS, pick a letter.
TermTypeDefinitionClassificationsUpdated
Makingnounan attribute that must be met or complied with and that fits a person for somethingverified
Mal De La RosanounMWEa disease caused by deficiency of niacin or tryptophan (or by a defect in the metabolic conversion of tryptophan to niacin)verified
Mal RossonounMWEa disease caused by deficiency of niacin or tryptophan (or by a defect in the metabolic conversion of tryptophan to niacin)verified
Malabsorption SyndromenounMWEa pattern of symptoms including loss of appetite and bloating and weight loss and muscle pain and steatorrheaverified
Malachitenouna green or blue mineral used as an ore of copper and for making ornamental objectsverified
Maladjustmentnounthe condition of being unable to adapt properly to your environment with resulting emotional instabilityverified
Malanganountropical American aroid having edible tubers that are cooked and eaten like yams or potatoesverified
Malarianounan infective disease caused by sporozoan parasites that are transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquitoverified
Malaria ParasitenounMWEparasitic protozoan of the genus Plasmodium that causes malaria in humansverified
Malathion PoisoningnounMWEa toxic condition caused by inhaling or ingesting the insecticide Malathionverified
Male FernnounMWEfern of North America and Europe whose rhizomes and stalks yield an oleoresin used to expel tapewormsverified
Male HypogonadismnounMWEthe state of being a eunuch (either because of lacking testicles or because they failed to develop)verified
Male PlugnounMWEan electrical device with two or three pins that is inserted in a socket to make an electrical connectionverified
Maleberrynoundeciduous much-branched shrub with dense downy panicles of small bell-shaped white flowersverified
Maledictionnounthe act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult)verified
Maleic AcidnounMWEa colorless crystalline compound found in unripe fruit (such as apples or tomatoes or cherries) and used mainly to make polyester resinsverified
malevolent activitynounMWEThis is a compositional prepositional phrase, not a term of art with a specialized or stipulated meaning. It functions as the condition-modifier in a risk statement: it describes the circumstance in which harmful, intentional acts by insiders — fraud, sabotage, unauthorized disclosure — can be carried out by a single individual acting alone, without needing to coordinate with or depend on another person. Separation of duties addresses the potential for abuse of authorized privileges and helps to reduce the risk of malevolent activity without collusion — meaning that when duties are properly divided, no one person retains enough unilateral access or authority to complete a harmful act on their own. The phrase is used across access-control and insider-threat literature as shorthand for the residual single-actor threat that separation of duties is designed to neutralize, and its meaning is entirely derivable from its component words in ordinary English.Threat
malicious actnounMWEAn intentional, wrongful act performed against another without legal justification or excuse.ThreatRegulated
malicious activitynounMWEActivity with a harmful intent, such as fraud, theft, blackmail, vandalism, looting, sabotage, etc.ThreatRegulated
malicious appletnounMWEA small application program that is automatically downloaded and executed and that performs an unauthorized function on an information system.Threat
malicious codenounMWESoftware or firmware intended to perform an unauthorized process that will have an adverse impact on the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of a system. A virus, worm, Trojan horse, or other code-based entity that infects a host. Spyware and some forms of adware are also examples of malicious code.ThreatRegulated
Malicious Code PreventionnounMWEThis purpose of policy is to prevent malicious code attacks from happening, and if they should happen, to quarantine the infected systems and eradicate the malicious code before it spreads further.ControlRegulated
malicious code protection mechanismnounMWEA category of security control — specifically, any technical tool, method, or combination thereof deployed at system entry/exit points and endpoints to detect, block, quarantine, or eradicate software or code intended to compromise a system. Such mechanisms include both signature- and nonsignature-based technologies; nonsignature-based detection includes artificial intelligence and heuristic techniques used to analyze the characteristics or behavior of malicious code, including cases where signatures do not yet exist or are ineffective. In compliance frameworks (NIST SP 800-53 SI-3, NIST SP 800-171, CMMC), the term functions as a collective label for the full suite of countermeasures an organization must deploy, configure, and keep current — employed at information system entry and exit points to detect and eradicate malicious code, updated whenever new releases are available, and configured to perform both periodic and real-time scans.ControlRegulated
malicious logicnounMWEHardware, firmware, or software that is intentionally included or inserted in a system for a harmful purpose.ThreatRegulated
Malignant HypertensionnounMWEsevere hypertension that runs a rapid course and damages the inner linings of the blood vessels and the heart and spleen and kidneys and brainverified
Malignant HyperthermianounMWEhereditary condition in which certain anesthetics (e.g., halothane) cause high body temperatures and muscle rigidityverified
Malignant MelanomanounMWEany of several malignant neoplasms (usually of the skin) consisting of melanocytesverified
Malignant NeoplasmnounMWEa tumor that is malignant and tends to spread to other parts of the bodyverified