1
: petty ill will or hatred with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart
2
: an instance of spite
spited; spiting
2
: to treat maliciously (as by shaming or thwarting)
Synonyms
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
Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 8 Apr. 2024
And yet here’s Larry, trying and trying, in spite of history, in spite of himself.
—Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The defeat on Thursday came in spite of Jake Burger, a St. Louis native, smashing a pair of home runs in his first MLB game at his hometown ballpark and Josh Bell adding a two-run shot of his own.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
In spite of widespread controversy, Jason Aldean is set to perform at the CMT Music Awards.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 3 Apr. 2024
The poor performance comes in spite of a series of measures Musk has announced to drum up sales.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
The name of Lockdown, a new bar from the same owners, refers to Hong Kong’s pandemic restrictions, and the offerings include experimental versions of American Prohibition-era cocktails (from 120 dollars) served in an elegant space (in spite of the toilet displayed in its front window).
—Tiffany May, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2024
For Robinson, the operatic tales that occupy much of Genesis provide an opportunity to ponder the idea that – in spite of characters behaving badly – a loving God never deserts His flock.
—Joan Taylor, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Mar. 2024
Such are the delights of PowerPoint presentation nights, which boomed in popularity during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic but are still charming partygoers (this, in spite of its regular use in corporate offices the world over).
—Scottie Andrew, CNN, 25 Mar. 2024
Christina Goldbaum, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024
Like Flock, Motz is interested in the lore of female vengeance: Judith beheading Holofernes, Medea killing her sons to spite Jason, Clytemnestra stabbing Agamemnon in the bath.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
The highest-grossing film in Warner Bros.’ history, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, took her place on the list, right under American Fiction, Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut about a Black novelist who writes a stereotypical book to spite the industry.
—Vulture, 7 Dec. 2023
Jamie Moraga, Franklin Revere NO: The city essentially cut off their nose to spite their face.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Nov. 2023
Doug always detested Reggie and only ended up the owner of the sweet pup to spite his ex-girlfriend, who loved the dog but learned to hate the two-timing Doug.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023
Forte plays Doug, who doesn’t want Reggie (voice of Will Ferrell), only keeping him to spite his ex.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 17 Aug. 2023
The most short-sighted aspect of the mini-rooms, however, is how blatantly the studios are cutting off their nose to spite their own faces.
—Zack Arnold, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 June 2023
There are legitimate concerns for sure, but giving up on a 26-year-old talent who is just entering his athletic prime smacks of an old Irish warning my mother used to tell us Sullivan siblings: Don’t bite off your nose to spite your face.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 1 June 2023
Noun
That’s in spite of the fact that SAS didn’t reveal where the planes would go.
—Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 8 Apr. 2024
And yet here’s Larry, trying and trying, in spite of history, in spite of himself.
—Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The defeat on Thursday came in spite of Jake Burger, a St. Louis native, smashing a pair of home runs in his first MLB game at his hometown ballpark and Josh Bell adding a two-run shot of his own.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
In spite of widespread controversy, Jason Aldean is set to perform at the CMT Music Awards.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 3 Apr. 2024
The poor performance comes in spite of a series of measures Musk has announced to drum up sales.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
The name of Lockdown, a new bar from the same owners, refers to Hong Kong’s pandemic restrictions, and the offerings include experimental versions of American Prohibition-era cocktails (from 120 dollars) served in an elegant space (in spite of the toilet displayed in its front window).
—Tiffany May, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2024
For Robinson, the operatic tales that occupy much of Genesis provide an opportunity to ponder the idea that – in spite of characters behaving badly – a loving God never deserts His flock.
—Joan Taylor, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Mar. 2024
Such are the delights of PowerPoint presentation nights, which boomed in popularity during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic but are still charming partygoers (this, in spite of its regular use in corporate offices the world over).
—Scottie Andrew, CNN, 25 Mar. 2024
Verb
Arrests and intimidation of military veterans and those in the country’s elite who backed Mr. Khan only seemed to isolate the military from one of its key support bases and drive voters to cast ballots just to spite the generals.
—Christina Goldbaum, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024
Like Flock, Motz is interested in the lore of female vengeance: Judith beheading Holofernes, Medea killing her sons to spite Jason, Clytemnestra stabbing Agamemnon in the bath.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
The highest-grossing film in Warner Bros.’ history, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, took her place on the list, right under American Fiction, Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut about a Black novelist who writes a stereotypical book to spite the industry.
—Vulture, 7 Dec. 2023
Jamie Moraga, Franklin Revere NO: The city essentially cut off their nose to spite their face.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Nov. 2023
Doug always detested Reggie and only ended up the owner of the sweet pup to spite his ex-girlfriend, who loved the dog but learned to hate the two-timing Doug.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023
Forte plays Doug, who doesn’t want Reggie (voice of Will Ferrell), only keeping him to spite his ex.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 17 Aug. 2023
The most short-sighted aspect of the mini-rooms, however, is how blatantly the studios are cutting off their nose to spite their own faces.
—Zack Arnold, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 June 2023
There are legitimate concerns for sure, but giving up on a 26-year-old talent who is just entering his athletic prime smacks of an old Irish warning my mother used to tell us Sullivan siblings: Don’t bite off your nose to spite your face.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 1 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing spite
Dictionary Entries Near spite
Cite this Entry
“Spite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spite. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
More from Merriam-Webster on spite
Nglish: Translation of spite for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of spite for Arabic Speakers
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