spiteful
Americanadjective
adjective
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Related Words
Spiteful, revengeful, vindictive refer to a desire to inflict a wrong or injury on someone, usually in return for one received. Spiteful implies a mean or malicious desire for (often petty) revenge: a spiteful attitude toward a former friend. Revengeful implies a deep, powerful, and continued intent to repay a wrong: a fierce and revengeful spirit. Vindictive does not imply action necessarily, but stresses the unforgiving nature of the avenger: a vindictive look.
Other Word Forms
- spitefully adverb
- spitefulness noun
- unspiteful adjective
- unspitefully adverb
Etymology
Origin of spiteful
A late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; spite, -ful
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.
"On the other hand, judging from his pretrial deposition, Trump would have made a horrible witness – spiteful, contradictory, given to falsehoods," O'Brien said.
From Salon
The Reagan administration introduced America to the spiteful political daughter — so spiteful she posed naked in Playboy magazine.
From Washington Times
As never before, I saw the state of California, divided and spiteful.
From Los Angeles Times
It’s the ultimate “How could she?” play in the Western canon, a mother driven to the horrendous act of filicide as spiteful revenge on a blithely unfaithful husband.
From Washington Post
“You are behaving like a spiteful, delusional old woman,” it said.
From Washington Post
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.
