as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
despiteful treatment of his poor relations during their visit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despiteful
Adjective
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025 -
For many of Modi’s supporters, Mamdani’s rhetoric is seen as a malicious attack on the country’s majority religion.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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That is unacceptably cruel, corrupt, and undemocratic.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Instead, she was stripped of her bronze medal after a late score inquiry—a ruling that still feels cruel for an athlete who had delivered the performance of her life.—
Essence,
Essence,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Officials charged Damon Leanord of Pleasanton, Kansas, with interference with law enforcement, having a vicious dog at large and criminal desecration of a body in Linn County and abandonment of a corpse charges in Bates County, Missouri, after finding the child’s body at the bottom of a creek bed.—
Sofi Zeman
January 6,
Kansas City Star,
6 Jan. 2026
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He was shocked in 2013 when he was struck by vicious bouts of vomiting.—
Robert McCoppin,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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West has previously apologized to the Jewish community, only to go on to make offensive and hateful remarks directed at them publicly.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
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Dearborn is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the US and has frequently faced Islamophobic and hateful remarks.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Despiteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despiteful. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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