sinister, baleful, malign mean seriously threatening evil or disaster.

sinister suggests a general or vague feeling of fear or apprehension on the part of the observer.

baleful imputes perniciousness or destructiveness to something whether working openly or covertly.

malign applies to what is inherently evil or harmful.

malign, traduce, asperse, vilify, calumniate, defame, slander mean to injure by speaking ill of.

malign suggests specific and often subtle misrepresentation but may not always imply deliberate lying.

traduce stresses the resulting ignominy and distress to the victim.

asperse implies continued attack on a reputation often by indirect or insinuated detraction.

vilify implies attempting to destroy a reputation by open and direct abuse.

calumniate imputes malice to the speaker and falsity to the assertions.

defame stresses the actual loss of or injury to one's good name.

slander stresses the suffering of the victim.