spite
Americannoun
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a malicious, usually petty, desire to harm, annoy, frustrate, or humiliate another person; bitter ill will; malice.
- Synonyms:
- spleen, venom, rancor, maliciousness, malevolence
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a particular instance of such an attitude or action; grudge.
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Obsolete. something that causes vexation; annoyance.
verb (used with object)
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to treat with spite or malice.
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to annoy or thwart, out of spite.
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to fill with spite; vex; offend.
idioms
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in spite of, in disregard or defiance of; notwithstanding; despite.
She arrived at school on time in spite of the snowstorm.
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cut off one's nose to spite one's face. nose.
noun
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maliciousness involving the desire to harm another; venomous ill will
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an instance of such malice; grudge
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archaic something that induces vexation
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(preposition) in defiance of; regardless of; notwithstanding
verb
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to annoy in order to vent spite
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archaic to offend
Related Words
See grudge. See notwithstanding.
Other Word Forms
- spiteless adjective
- unspited adjective
Etymology
Origin of spite
1250–1300; Middle English; aphetic variant of despite
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The clean installation helps the viewer to “get” Samaras—his off-kilter intensity and odd self-effacement, in spite of all the focus on his own likeness.
“By not doing that or selectively not doing that, I think they’re cutting off their nose to spite their face,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
In spite of that the 19-year-old Italian said he was looking forward confidently to Australia.
From Barron's
So in spite of rising authoritarianism around the world, here’s what gives me hope: More people are awake than ever before.
From Salon
Today, his spite and resentment have have faded and he compliments others as often as he boasts.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
