spitefulness

noun

as in malice
the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm cut down their neighbors' tree out of sheer spitefulness

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spitefulness
  1. malice
  2. venom
  3. hatred
  4. cruelty
  5. spite
Noun
  • In October, a Newton County grand jury indicted 43-year-old Taiesha Wilson on charges of malice murder, murder, concealing the death of another, identity theft, and more.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Kingston Bradley of Smyrna, Georgia, was arrested and charged with concealing the death of another and malice murder in connection with Mosley’s death.
    — Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of malice
Noun
  • The story begins in 1990, when John Eng, an endocrinologist at the Veterans Administration, isolated a peptide from the venom of Gila monsters, the nearly two-foot-long lizards native to the Southwest.
    — Dr. Bowman Heiden, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
  • However, the brown recluse and black widow spiders do have dangerous venom.
    — Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of venom
Noun
  • Platforms for hatred These platforms don’t make hatred possible.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Renée shared a hatred of Nazis and had a keen desire to defeat the Axis powers.
    — Gaby Iori October 7, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of hatred
Noun
  • Luhansk, this terra incognita of the independent Ukraine, is described in almost carnivalesque terms, but this is a carnival infused with absurdity and even cruelty.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Artistaya Arriyawongsa directed and co-wrote the film, which uses the supernatural to probe online cruelty and the public shaming it fuels.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruelty
Noun
  • How much of your inspiration and motivation actually comes from spite?
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Mikey Madison is excellent as a whistleblower driven by love, not spite.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of spite
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.

Browse Nearby Words

spitefully
spitefulness
spites
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Cite this Entry

“Spitefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spitefulness. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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