The Chinese word **恶性 (èxìng)**, meaning "malignant" or "vicious," is a compound formed through semantic combination. It consists of the morpheme **恶 (è)**, meaning "evil" or "bad," and the morpheme **性 (xìng)**, meaning "nature," "character," or "-ity." Together, they create a modifier-noun structure where **性** acts as a head nominalizer, turning the adjective **恶** into an abstract noun meaning "the nature of being bad." This compound is then used adjectivally in contexts like **恶性肿瘤 (èxìng zhǒngliú, malignant tumor)** or **恶性循环 (èxìng xúnhuán, vicious cycle)** to describe a deeply harmful, self-aggravating, or dangerous quality.