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despite

American  
[dih-spahyt] / dɪˈspaɪt /

preposition

  1. in spite of; notwithstanding.

noun

  1. contemptuous treatment; insult.

  2. malice, hatred, or spite.

verb (used with object)

despited, despiting

  1. Obsolete. to anger or annoy (someone) out of spite.

idioms

  1. in despite of, in spite of; notwithstanding.

    He was tolerant in despite of his background and education.
despite British  
/ dɪˈspaɪt /

preposition

  1. in spite of; undeterred by

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. archaic contempt; insult

  2. rare (preposition) in spite of

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) an archaic word for spite

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See notwithstanding.

Etymology

Origin of despite

First recorded in 1250–1300; originally in despite of; Middle English despit, from Old French, from Latin dēspectus “view from a height, scorn,” originally past participle of dēspicere; despicable ( def. )

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.