dispiteous

[ dis-pit-ee-uhs ]

adjective

, Archaic.

1. malicious; cruel; pitiless.

Other Words From

• dis·pite·ous·ly adverb
• dis·pite·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dispiteous¹

1795–1805; earlier despiteous, alteration, after piteous, of dispitous, despitous, Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French; despite, -ous; later taken as dis- ¹ + piteous

Example Sentences

Turning dispiteous torture out of door?

From Project Gutenberg

Be but as sweet as is the bitterest, The most dispiteous out of all the gods, I am well pleased.

From Project Gutenberg

This dispiteous and abominable tyrant prohibits the bodies of the warriors fallen in the celebrated siege of that city from burial.

From Project Gutenberg

Aeneas was our king, foremost of men in righteousness, incomparable in goodness as in warlike arms; whom if fate still preserves, if he draws the breath of heaven and lies not yet low in dispiteous gloom, fear we have none; nor mayest thou repent of challenging the contest of service.

From Project Gutenberg

The second thought made plain the dispiteous hardness of it all, showing me how I had reasoned like a boy in planning for retrieval.

From Project Gutenberg