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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Recent Examples of spiteful
But when he’s presumed dead after a tragic run-in with a pirate ship, our heroine is forced to take up with the spiteful Prince Humperdink—that is, until a masked man in black jumps in to save her.
—
Gia Yetikyel, Vogue, 24 Jan. 2025
Biden’s mean-spirited, spiteful actions are only more reasons for Americans to vote Republican in future elections.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2025
Share [Findings] Unaffiliated voters are growing more spiteful toward both Democrats and Republicans.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 22 Jan. 2025
Iannucci may spin stories of spiteful people, but Iannucci the person is different.
—John Baldoni, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiteful
Gia Yetikyel, Vogue, 24 Jan. 2025
Biden’s mean-spirited, spiteful actions are only more reasons for Americans to vote Republican in future elections.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2025
Share [Findings] Unaffiliated voters are growing more spiteful toward both Democrats and Republicans.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 22 Jan. 2025
Iannucci may spin stories of spiteful people, but Iannucci the person is different.
—John Baldoni, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiteful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiteful
Adjective
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
28 June 2025
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Nor are alligators the consistently malicious snappers of Kristi Noem’s dreams.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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What is a totalitarian leader other than an individualist taking that creed to its cruel conclusions, erasing the uniqueness of every other person into mere characters in a drama?—
Ed Simon
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
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This realization reconfigures the entire book, recasting their ongoing dialogue and seemingly cordial relations as an interstellar jail—and the novel itself into an extended, especially cruel prison sentence.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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This approach costs three times more than housing people and creates a vicious cycle — incarceration increases homelessness risk by destroying community connections and employment prospects.—
Mahdi E Diab,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 June 2025
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Of course, no conversation about Yellowjackets season 3 would be complete without a deep dive into Shauna's vicious throw down with Swank's Melissa — during which Shauna rips a chunk of flesh off Melissa's arm with her teeth and forces her to eat it.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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Our national broadcaster should not be transmitting hateful material designed to incite violence and conflict.—
Fatima Al-Kassab,
NPR,
30 June 2025
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Instead, the program selectively promoted one viewpoint while silencing others, effectively teaching children that religious beliefs about sexuality and gender are outdated or even hateful.—
Jeffrey S. Trimbath,
Baltimore Sun,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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Perhaps not helping so much: The set’s early reviews, which have been mostly fairly nasty in their dismissals of the set.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
25 June 2025
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Again there are two levels here, and each radically altered the color profile of the onscreen visuals – with the high setting giving everything a nasty green hue.—
Paul Ridden
June 25,
New Atlas,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spiteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiteful. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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