malinger

Malinger is the act of deliberately feigning or exaggerating physical or psychological symptoms to achieve an external benefit, such as avoiding work, dodging military duty, or securing financial compensation. The behavior is intentional and the person’s true medical status may be unknown or different from what is claimed.

Etymology and usage: The term derives from the French maligner, meaning to feign illness, and entered English in the 19th century. In contemporary use, malingering is discussed mainly in medical, forensic, insurance, and legal contexts. It is distinguished from genuine illness and from less deliberate or incidental exaggeration of symptoms.

Assessment and ethics: Determining malingering relies on behavioral indicators, inconsistencies between reported symptoms and objective findings, collateral information, and the presence of external incentives. Clinicians may employ structured interviews and specialized tests, but no assessment is definitive. Mislabeling someone as malingering can cause harm, so evaluations aim for careful, evidence-based judgment. In legal and insurance settings, malingering may be treated as fraud or as a defense, with potential consequences for the individual.

Related concepts: Malingering is distinct from factitious disorder, where a person feigns illness without obvious external incentives, and from somatization, where symptoms are real to the patient but not explained by a medical condition. The term remains controversial in some circles due to the subjective nature of symptom reporting and the potential for stigma.