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
Synonym Usage
See grudge. See notwithstanding.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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spitesimple
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spitessimple
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have spitedperfect
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has spitedperfect
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am spitingprogressive
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are spitingprogressive
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is spitingprogressive
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have been spitingperfect progressive
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has been spitingperfect progressive
Past
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spitedsimple
-
had spitedperfect
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was spitingprogressive
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were spitingprogressive
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had been spitingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing spite
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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 people of New York vanquished him with none of the spite he has spent decades sowing, but with grace, love, and pride in their city.
From Salon • Jun. 17, 2026
In spite of everything, here are 18 small to midsize music venues that have opened in recent years in Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
Management struck an upbeat tone in spite of the numbers.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
Yet in spite of that media shift, 60 Minutes remained widely viewed and successful across all metrics.
From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026
The twins were horribly jealous to hear Baby Max praised by their mother, and decided to misbehave out of spite.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
