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
Noun
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The hypocrisy and malice are stunning.—
Betsy McCaughey,
Boston Herald,
9 Mar. 2026 -
Count 1, malice murder, guilty.—
Erin Moriarty,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Natural products inspired by organisms include GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight loss, spider and snake venoms, and compounds from plants and fungi with potential uses in pain relief and cancer treatment.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Mar. 2026
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Toxins in many animal venoms, for example, are peptides.—
Dominique Mosbergen,
Time,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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All of Iran’s proxies share a deep ideological hatred of Israel and America.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2026
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Loud and proud Jews will not allow hatred or fear to deter our Jewish way of life or our presence in the world.—
Beth Bailey,
FOXNews.com,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Christopher Lucas was arraigned in Quincy District Court, facing charges that include animal cruelty and hunting without a license.—
Penny Kmitt,
CBS News,
10 Mar. 2026
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For too long, Wyoming has been an outlier in tolerating extreme cruelty toward its wild carnivores.—
Wendy Keefover,
Denver Post,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Hunger happens here often times in spite of a lot of hard work.—
Lee Cowan,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
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Luckily, Liu appears to be taking time for herself in spite of the madness.—
Daysia Tolentino,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Spitefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spitefulness. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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