malaise
noun /məˈleɪz/
/məˈleɪz/
[uncountable, singular] (formal)- a general feeling of being ill, unhappy or not satisfied, or that something is wrong in society, without being able to explain or identify what is wrong synonym unease
- economic/financial/social malaise
- a serious malaise among the staff
- The latest crime figures are merely symptomatic of a wider malaise in society.
Word Originmid 18th cent.: from French, from Old French mal ‘bad’ (from Latin malus) + aise ‘ease’.