The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word MALIGN
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
M
A
L
I
G
N
More clues leading to the result MALIGN
- Country gent, oddly evil
- Bad side dominated by Millwall initially
- Wickedly hurtful insult
- Nasty relative listened to row
- Run down top of mountain range
- Baleful sickness upset no-good individual
- Defame a large number and get into a row
- From country in Africa, get a change to good or evil
- Hostile African country with guns regularly seen
- Evil man’s first order?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Wickedly hurtfu/insult" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case wickedly hurtfu/insult = malign.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does MALIGN mean?
MALIGN verb- To make defamatory statements about; to slander or traduce.
- To treat with malice; to show hatred toward; to abuse; to wrong.
- Evil or malignant in disposition, nature, intent or influence.
- Malevolent.
- Malignant.