spite

1 of 2

noun

ˈspīt 

1

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

2

: an instance of spite

see also in spite of

spite

2 of 2

verb

spited; spiting

transitive verb

1

a

: annoy, offend

b

: to fill with spite

2

: to treat maliciously (as by shaming or thwarting)

Synonyms of spite

Noun

• malice
• venom
• hatred
• cruelty

Verb

• annoy
• bother
• irritate
• bug
• persecute
• aggravate
• anger

Choose the Right Synonym for spite

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

Yeah, in spite of having been there for months, the crew was really engaged with the story. —Andrew McGowan, Variety, 15 Dec. 2025

She got caught in spite of the Foundation’s flawed system of checks and balances that had given her sole authority to sign off on expenses and payments up to $100,000. —Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 12 Dec. 2025

Verb

Advertisement Back home, Khan’s political opponents, all of them escapees of the same jail where Khan resides, have cut their noses to spite his handsome face. —Mohammed Hanif, Time, 1 Dec. 2025

Alienating them, as well as the people onstage(*), is cutting off your nose to spite your face, but only if your face already consisted entirely of that nose. —Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, short for despite

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing spite

• cut off one's nose to spite one's face
• in spite of oneself

Rhymes for spite

• bight
• bite
• blight
• byte
• cite
• dight
• fight
• fite
• flight
• fright
• height
• hight

Kids Definition

spite

1 of 2 noun

ˈspīt 

: dislike or hatred for another person with a wish to torment, anger, or defeat

spite

2 of 2 verb

spited; spiting

: annoy, offend

did it to spite me