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
Being consumed by negative emotions like envy or engaging in spiteful behavior does nobody any good.
—
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Watch The Witcher on Netflix Beef On this Emmy-winning dramedy anthology, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun star as two spiteful strangers who meet during a fit of road rage.
—Jessica Booth, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2025
Played by a sniveling Casey Siemaszko, Billy is spineless and spiteful.
—Sezin Devi Koehler September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
But to unsuspecting humans, killer bees sure seem aggressive, spiteful and terrifying.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiteful
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Watch The Witcher on Netflix Beef On this Emmy-winning dramedy anthology, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun star as two spiteful strangers who meet during a fit of road rage.
—Jessica Booth, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2025
Played by a sniveling Casey Siemaszko, Billy is spineless and spiteful.
—Sezin Devi Koehler September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
But to unsuspecting humans, killer bees sure seem aggressive, spiteful and terrifying.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiteful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiteful
Adjective
-
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
Adjective
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The growth of passive investing, through index funds found in the 401(k) accounts of average Americans, has propped up the stock market while also potentially setting it up for a nasty fall.—
Mark Dent,
HubSpot,
7 Nov. 2025
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Instead of this stuff that's raised overseas that's done in ways that doesn't have any checks, that it's got polluted water, it's being fed really nasty stuff, full of antibiotics, full of chemicals.—
Dan Morrison,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spiteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiteful. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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