malos

Malos is the masculine plural form of the Spanish adjective malo, meaning "bad." In Spanish, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in gender and number; the feminine plural form is malas. As a rule, adjectives typically follow the noun, as in los hábitos malos (the bad habits), but they can appear before the noun for emphasis in certain cases.

As a noun phrase, los malos often refers to people perceived as morally bad or to antagonists in a story. In everyday speech and in media, the term is commonly used to designate villains or opponents, as in "los malos de la historia" (the bad guys of the story). The expression can carry connotations of moral judgment and is frequently used in discussions of behavior, crime, or literary analysis.

Etymology and related forms: malo comes from Latin malus, and the word has cognates in other Romance languages, reflecting a shared root for “bad.” The form malos specifically marks masculine plural, with malas being feminine plural and malo/mala singular.

In broader use, mal- forms part of many Spanish words related to negativity or deficiency, though such derivations are typically distinct from the simple adjective malo. Malos can also appear as a surname in Spanish-speaking communities.

See also: malo, maldad, mal (prefix).