as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the gossip would utter the most vicious things with a spiteful smile
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spiteful
Tourette’s can feel spiteful and searches out the most upsetting tic for me personally and for those around me.
—
Clayton Davis, Variety, 24 Feb. 2026
Melvin Williams, a professor of communication and media studies at Pace University, says the spiteful nature of Swift and Lively's texts doesn't reflect well on either woman − and both have probably lost some fans as a result.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
If not for Camilla, who’d gone out of her way to take Regina in, even letting her share the bedroom with her and Lalla, the others wouldn’t have welcomed her—not out of spite, no, because none of them were spiteful after all, but out of indifference, selfishness, plain and simple.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Meester holds her cards close to her chest, leaving us to wonder whether Joanne is being spiteful and shallow (given her trajectory … probably) or whether this woman is really that unbearable.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiteful
Clayton Davis, Variety, 24 Feb. 2026
Melvin Williams, a professor of communication and media studies at Pace University, says the spiteful nature of Swift and Lively's texts doesn't reflect well on either woman − and both have probably lost some fans as a result.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
If not for Camilla, who’d gone out of her way to take Regina in, even letting her share the bedroom with her and Lalla, the others wouldn’t have welcomed her—not out of spite, no, because none of them were spiteful after all, but out of indifference, selfishness, plain and simple.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Meester holds her cards close to her chest, leaving us to wonder whether Joanne is being spiteful and shallow (given her trajectory … probably) or whether this woman is really that unbearable.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiteful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiteful
Adjective
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Benjamin Parris, also 19, of Greenville, South Carolina, is charged with two counts of malicious destruction of property of $1,000 or more but less than $20,000 and two counts of conspiracy to commit malicious destruction of property of $1,000 or more but less than $20,000.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
22 Apr. 2026
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Instead of using obvious malicious code, the attackers built the installer with legitimate tools and layered the attack in stages.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Dahl’s books are fanciful and imaginative, but also dark, cynical, and mean (and, unfortunately, often reflected his real-life ugliness), spinning stories in which gruesome and unpleasant fates befell rotten kids, and adults were frequently selfish, cruel, and not to be trusted.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
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Violating that trust is both cruel and unlawful.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Inexplicable, loud, kinetic, vicious.—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
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That is, until the union starts not-so-quietly exploding during a vicious screaming match at their home following a fundraising event.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Fuentes and his hateful mob — along with the rest of the world — are still waiting for the segment to air on CNN.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Apr. 2026
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While Kirk was praised by conservatives as a champion of free speech, he was also criticized for comments that many other Americans found hateful toward LGBTQ+ communities, non-Christians, people of color and women.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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This was the old Magic — the nasty, physical, suffocating defensive team that made every possession feel like work.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Apr. 2026
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From there, the beef between the two couples runs the gamut from faux-gentile to downright nasty.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spiteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiteful. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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