To malinger means to pretend to be sick or injured to avoid work or responsibility. A student who malingers might fake a stomachache to skip a math test they didn't study for. A soldier who malingers might exaggerate an injury to avoid dangerous duty.

A malingerer isn't someone who's genuinely unwell; they're someone pretending to be unwell for personal gain.

Malingering is different from actually being sick or simply wanting a break. Everyone feels tired or stressed sometimes, and taking care of your health matters. But a malingerer invents or exaggerates symptoms specifically to escape something difficult or unpleasant.

Doctors and teachers often develop a sense for spotting malingerers because the pattern becomes obvious: the “illness” appears right before something challenging and disappears immediately after. A student who claims terrible headaches every Tuesday before their piano lesson but feels perfectly fine by Wednesday morning might be malingering. The deception damages trust, making it harder for people to believe you even when you're genuinely sick or injured.