spite

noun

\ ˈspīt

Definition of spite

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : petty ill will or hatred with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart

2 : an instance of spite

in spite of

: in defiance or contempt of : without being prevented by succeeded in spite of their opposition

spite

verb

spited; spiting

Definition of spite (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : annoy, offend

b : to fill with spite

2 : to treat maliciously (as by shaming or thwarting)

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about spite

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Choose the Right Synonym for spite

Noun

malice, malevolence, ill will, spite, malignity, spleen, grudge mean the desire to see another experience pain, injury, or distress. malice implies a deep-seated often unexplainable desire to see another suffer. felt no malice toward their former enemies malevolence suggests a bitter persistent hatred that is likely to be expressed in malicious conduct. a look of dark malevolence ill will implies a feeling of antipathy of limited duration. ill will provoked by a careless remark spite implies petty feelings of envy and resentment that are often expressed in small harassments. petty insults inspired by spite malignity implies deep passion and relentlessness. a life consumed by motiveless malignity spleen suggests the wrathful release of latent spite or persistent malice. venting his spleen against politicians grudge implies a harbored feeling of resentment or ill will that seeks satisfaction. never one to harbor a grudge

Examples of spite in a Sentence

Noun

He is jealous and full of spite. spread cruel lies out of pure spite

Verb

He only did it to spite me. sometimes, I swear, she keeps doing that just to spite me

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

This stands to reason, seeing as how most of us are fascinated—in spite of ourselves—by that unreal city and its peculiar ways. — Terry Teachout, WSJ, "‘True West’ Review: Family Feud via Tinseltown," 24 Jan. 2019 And the Tigers hardly did it in spite of the young Lawrence. — Rachel Bachman, WSJ, "How Clemson Emulated Silicon Valley to Win a National Title," 8 Jan. 2019 Harry and Meghan, on the other hand, will likely visit with her mother, Doria Ragland, who won't be joining the royals for Christmas in Sandringham, in spite of earlier reports. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "Prince William, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton, and Meghan Markle Will All Spend Christmas Together After All," 16 Dec. 2018 But in spite of Spider-Man’s successful MCU integration, Sony continued to work on many of its expanded universe ideas. — Bryan Bishop, The Verge, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is dazzling, hilarious, and unique," 14 Dec. 2018 Paired with glossy booties instead of high heels, the look felt laid back in spite of its luxury. — Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, "Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet Give a Crash Course in BoHo Couple’s Style," 13 Dec. 2018 All my students have ever requested is a way to keep engaging with the content — all the content — of my courses, in spite of setbacks. — Jonathan W. Wilson, Vox, "My students aren’t asking for safe spaces. They’re repressing past traumas to survive.," 12 Dec. 2018 But in spite of this, women accounted for only around a quarter of sole protagonists in the top 2017 films and only played about a third of major characters. — Samantha Leach, Glamour, "Female-Led Films Earn More Than Ones Starring Men, According to a New Study," 11 Dec. 2018 In spite of tens of thousands of people logging in to play, matches are taking no less than eight minutes at a time to gather 16 combatants. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Counter-Strike GO becomes F2P, adds a shrunken battle royale mode," 6 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Chris JacksonGetty Images Kate Middleton and Prince William have arrived for a visit to seaside town Blackpool, and to spite the dreary weather, Kate is dressed in a vibrant outfit. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Kate Middleton Braves the Rain in an Olive Sportsmax Coat and Manu Atelier Clutch," 6 Mar. 2019 In fact, the attacker will take it one step further, and join fierce rivals Barcelona instead - simply to spite Los Blancos. — SI.com, "Report Claims Mohamed Salah Has 'Decided Against' Real Madrid Move for Ridiculous Reason," 12 June 2018 Toure's damning assessment of Guardiola - who has managed him at two separate clubs - arrived alongside the Ivorian's offer to play for another top six side for only £1 per week in order to spite Guardiola. — SI.com, "'I Never Saw Something Racist': De Bruyne Defends Pep Guardiola Over Yaya Toure's Anti-African Claim," 6 June 2018 But that didn’t stop these conservatives from using the farm bill vote to spite the leadership for its inaction on immigration. — Philip Elliott, Time, "The House GOP Is in Chaos," 21 May 2018 Obama naively believed that the Republicans wouldn’t be willing to handicap a third of the federal government just to spite him. — Jason Johnson, The Root, "It’s Been a Lousy Week in Politics, and Some of It Is Obama’s Fault," 29 June 2018 But there were real -- and valid -- concerns heading into Tuesday's primaries that the party might well cut off its nose to spite its face in the Golden State. — Chris Cillizza, CNN, "Trump's 'great night for Republicans' in the California primaries wasn't so great after all," 6 June 2018 Prosecutors had argued that Ms. Ortega was angry about her workload and schedule and killed the children to spite their mother. — New York Times, "Yoselyn Ortega, Nanny Who Killed 2 Children, Is Sentenced to Life in Prison," 14 May 2018 All this would cost $750m—a steep price just to spite a neighbour. — The Economist, "Why Qatar is raising cows in the desert," 17 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spite.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.