Crossword Genius

Somewhat dismal, ignominious and baleful (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

malign

'baleful' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'somewhat dismal ignominious and' is the wordplay.
'somewhat' indicates a hidden word.
'MALIGN' can be found hidden inside 'dismal ignominious and'.

(Other definitions for malign that I've seen before include "Speak ill of (someone)" , "Damaging - defame" , "Speak bad of" , "Evil - slander" , "Traduce" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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