despiteful

adjective

di-ˈspīt-fəl How to pronounce despiteful (audio)
Definition of despitefulnext
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for despiteful
  1. malicious
  2. cruel
  3. vicious
  4. hateful
Adjective
  • Once installed, the malicious app pushes you to enable Android's Accessibility service.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Companies should detect prompt injection, malicious or compromised tools, behavioral anomalies, data exfiltration and other threats.
    — Shashwat Sehgal, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of malicious
Adjective
  • The policy of sending them to a third country has been condemned as harsh and cruel.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Eight men were killed via gassing until an Alabama district judge ruled the execution method unconstitutionally cruel, in June; the Supreme Court has maintained the block.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • The film focuses on a psychological experiment that Kaczynski was part of in college, where he was subjected to vicious personal attacks.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
  • In the clip, an 11-year-old Breakers player can be seen skating up the ice before delivering a vicious, two-handed slash to the head of a Kings player.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of vicious
Adjective
  • Calling yourself compassionate doesn't excuse dangerous accusations What, exactly, is hateful about a mother or father wanting their daughter to have a female-only locker room?
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • His parents denied any wrongdoing in an interview with ABC10 News and said the family does not hold hateful beliefs.
    — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of hateful
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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despiteful
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Cite this Entry

“Despiteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despiteful. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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