Benediction means an invocation of divine blessing, usually at the end of a church service: “Thepriest issued forth a prayer of benediction.”
It is also used for an expression of good wishes; something that encourages goodness or well being: “At the conclusion of the marriage ceremony, the parents of the groom spoke a small benediction, wishing the couple a safe and happy life.”
Malediction, on the other hand, is the calling down of a curse or an expression of slander: “The old hag uttered a malediction against her neighbors.”
Benediction & Malediction
Word Roots
Bene- A prefix added to the start of a word. Indicates that “good” or “well” modifies the word.
Ex
Our benevolent work includes providing funds for emergency medical care of dogs and cats.
The formulation of this benediction raises several questions.
Professional gardeners utilize our beneficial insects as their primary form of pest control.
mal-, male-, mali-
(Latin: bad, badly, harsh, wrong; ill; evil; abnormal, defective; used primarily as a prefix)
Diction – A vocal expression