spite

[ spahyt ]

noun

1. a malicious, usually petty, desire to harm, annoy, frustrate, or humiliate another person; bitter ill will; malice.

   Synonyms: maliciousness, spleen, venom, rancor, malevolence

2. a particular instance of such an attitude or action; grudge.
3. Obsolete. something that causes vexation; annoyance.

verb (used with object)

, spit·ed, spit·ing.

1. to treat with spite or malice.
2. to annoy or thwart, out of spite.
3. to fill with spite; vex; offend.

spite

/ spaɪt /

noun

1. maliciousness involving the desire to harm another; venomous ill will
2. an instance of such malice; grudge
3. archaic.
   something that induces vexation
4. in spite of
   preposition in defiance of; regardless of; notwithstanding

verb

1. to annoy in order to vent spite
2. archaic.
   to offend

Other Words From

• spiteless adjective
• un·spited adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spite¹

1250–1300; Middle English; aphetic variant of despite

Word History and Origins

Origin of spite¹

C13: variant of despite

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in spite of, in disregard or defiance of; notwithstanding; despite:

   She arrived at school on time in spite of the snowstorm.

2. cut off one's nose to spite one's face. nose ( def 23 ).

More idioms and phrases containing spite

see in spite of .

Synonym Study

See grudge. See notwithstanding.

Example Sentences

Often, in spite of its spoiled political terrain, L.A., like the bird of paradise, found a way to sprout.

From Los Angeles Times

People praise Saturday Night Live for its political satire…in spite of how toothless a lot of that satire is.

From Slate

“In spite of the homes that were lost there, there’s a measure of success in avoiding loss of human life,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

He said that he still believes in America in spite of Trump's victory.

From Salon

All of this is in spite of the American economy being literally "the envy of the world" with a robust job market that hasn't been seen since the 1960s, roaring markets, high consumer spending on durable goods and travel and what would normally be considered a very reasonable inflation rate.

From Salon