spite

American  

[spahyt] / spaɪt /

noun

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

   Synonyms:

   spleen, venom, rancor, maliciousness, malevolence

2. a particular instance of such an attitude or action; grudge.

3. Obsolete. something that causes vexation; annoyance.

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verb (used with object)

spites, present (3rd person singular) spited, past participle, past spiting present participle

1. to treat with spite or malice.

2. to annoy or thwart, out of spite.

3. to fill with spite; vex; offend.

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.

spite British  

/ 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. (preposition) in defiance of; regardless of; notwithstanding

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verb

1. to annoy in order to vent spite

2. archaic to offend

spite More Idioms  

1. see in spite of.

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Synonym Usage

See grudge. See notwithstanding.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spiteless
  adjective
• unspited
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have spited
  perfect
• has spited
  perfect 3rd person singular
• is spiting
  progressive 3rd person singular
• are spiting
  progressive
• am spiting
  progressive 1st person singular
• spites
  singular 3rd person
• has been spiting
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been spiting
  perfect progressive
• spiting
  participle

Past

• had spited
  perfect
• spited
  participle
• was spiting
  progressive singular
• had been spiting
  perfect progressive
• were spiting
  progressive plural
• spited
  simple

Future

• will spite
  simple
• will have spited
  perfect
• will be spiting
  progressive
• will have been spiting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of spite

1250–1300; Middle English; aphetic variant of despite

Explanation

When your sister told you that you looked terrible in your new tube top, she may have been saying it out of spite, or in a deliberately mean or offensive way. The noun spite means "a desire to offend." The word spite can also take the form of a verb, when it's used like this: "He only became a vegetarian to spite his cattle rancher father." Either way, spite implies a grudge, a desire to offend or hurt the feelings of someone by actions or words.

Example Sentences

Yet even my former boyfriend from England, who I imagine having grown up with a silver spoon, would go on to acknowledge to me that Olive Garden was good in spite of his initial skepticism.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026

So, in spite of O’Leary’s concerted efforts to smear the protesters as “proxies” for the Chinese government, and to dismiss opposing arguments as “poo-poo,” Utah politicians sound quite different right now.

From Slate • Jun. 1, 2026

So in spite of his many disclaimers around the integrity of the forecast, Klement is braced for the tournament kick-off in June.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

“Boz, you have been effective in spite of your behavior,” he said Sandberg told him, “not because of it.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

In spite of his anxiety, he tried to keep up the appearance of calm in order to maintain morale.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong