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 there’s a qualitative difference with a spiteful, foul-mouthed, score-settling president leading by acrid example.
—
Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025
In the book, Benedict falls for Sophie Beckett, the daughter of an earl who’s been hidden away from the Ton and forced to work as a housemaid by her spiteful stepmother.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
But what does our contemporary obsession — both spiteful and fawning — with Brutalism say about our wants and needs as a society at this moment?
—Anna Kodé, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Several diss tracks followed, with the musicians hurling increasingly spiteful insults at each other relating to accusations of domestic abuse, exploitation and pedophilia.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiteful
Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025
In the book, Benedict falls for Sophie Beckett, the daughter of an earl who’s been hidden away from the Ton and forced to work as a housemaid by her spiteful stepmother.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
But what does our contemporary obsession — both spiteful and fawning — with Brutalism say about our wants and needs as a society at this moment?
—Anna Kodé, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Several diss tracks followed, with the musicians hurling increasingly spiteful insults at each other relating to accusations of domestic abuse, exploitation and pedophilia.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiteful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiteful
Adjective
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Accessing the code prompts recipients to provide personal and financial information, or can lead to downloading malicious software.—
Laura Daniella Sepulveda,
AZCentral.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Victims are then defrauded again, with more money lost to these malicious recovery schemes.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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That is a particularly egregious example of how the Trump Administration has been gratuitously cruel to the Sudanese.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
5 Aug. 2025
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Stacy, Tim’s wife, also died of pancreatic cancer five months later in February of 2024, a cruel hand for a family that for years had gone above and beyond in their efforts to raise money and awareness for cancer research.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Feeling profoundly betrayed and abandoned by David, Rebecca’s loyalty lies with the vicious and conniving Juno, the only family she’s known for the last decade.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
13 Aug. 2025
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Nothing could possibly go wrong with all the vicious alien specimens on board, right?—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The nonprofit’s promotional ads were on social media including Facebook, where it was met with some explicitly hateful comments aimed at the LGBTQ community, Carolina Theatre spokesman Jared Misner said.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Aug. 2025
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Klum and Kaulitz, who tied the knot in 2019, have been on the receiving end of hateful remarks due to their 17-year age gap.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Whereas the Star Wars sequels woefully misused the actor's talents, this movie puts them center stage, playing one of the teen hoodlums who join forces with their victim to fight off nasty, otherworldly invaders.—
Chris Snellgrove,
EW.com,
12 Aug. 2025
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Things could be reversed if prompt actions are taken to get vaccination rates back up again before the different nasty microbes can spread too far in the U.S. population.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
10 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spiteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiteful. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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