spite
noun
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Definition of spite
(Entry 1 of 2)
spite
verbDefinition of spite (Entry 2 of 2)
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Synonyms for spite
Synonyms: Noun
cattiness, despite, hatefulness, malevolence, malice, maliciousness, malignance, malignancy, malignity, meanness, nastiness, spitefulness, spleen, venom, viciousness
Synonyms: Verb
aggravate, annoy, bother, bug, burn (up), chafe, eat, exasperate, frost, gall, get, grate, gripe, hack (off), irk, irritate, itch, nark [British], nettle, peeve, persecute, pique, put out, rasp, rile, ruffle, vex
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Examples of spite in a Sentence
Noun
He is jealous and full of spite. spread cruel lies out of pure spiteVerb
He only did it to spite me. sometimes, I swear, she keeps doing that just to spite me
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
In a country riven by coups and political conflict, tourism has succeeded in spite of the government, not because of it. — The Economist, "A fall in the number of Chinese tourists breeds unease in Thailand," 31 Aug. 2019 In spite of missing four games last year, Jackson still scored the 36th-most (half-PPR) fantasy points among wide receivers and was better on a per-game basis (top 30). — Kevin Hanson, SI.com, "Fantasy Football 2019: 10 Undervalued Players," 29 Aug. 2019 The versatility of the outside linebackers also bolsters the depth of the edge rushers — a position that seems to be rather deep in spite of the departure of starter Trey Flowers. — Nicole Yang, BostonGlobe.com, "Brian Hoyer, bubble guys, and the offensive line: What to look for in Thursday’s Patriots preseason game," 28 Aug. 2019 In spite of the roadblocks, actions by governments and nonprofits might pave the way for others to take a more aggressive stance against appropriation. — Sangeeta Singh-kurtz, Quartzy, "Governments are taking cultural appropriation to court," 28 Aug. 2019 Football is one place where people look for examples of resilience in spite of great pain. — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, "Pain and Resentment and the Inspiring Retirement of Andrew Luck," 27 Aug. 2019 Megvii's decision to list is one indication that Hong Kong is still an attractive market destination in spite of the current market downturn and increasingly spooked investors in several sectors. — Naomi Xu Elegant, Fortune, "Chinese A.I. Startup Megvii Files for an IPO in Hong Kong Amid Protests," 27 Aug. 2019 Consider its status on our end-of-the-year list a given, in spite of some imperfections and fumbles. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Review: Control is Remedy’s best game yet—and a ray tracing masterpiece," 26 Aug. 2019 In spite of the dominance of Android, about half of the world’s population (around 3 billion people) is still offline and any player that targets this category of people could control the communication landscape in the future. — Paul Adepoju, Quartz Africa, "The path to the next billion internet users is through feature phones," 23 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Endgame is likely to hold the new record for a while, unless Cameron re-releases Avatar prior to its 2021 sequel purely to spite the Marvel franchise. — Adam Epstein, Quartzy, "“Avengers: Endgame” is now the biggest movie ever. But that’s still not as impressive as what “Avatar” did," 22 July 2019 His threat was seen as a measure to spite local Jews. — Cnaan Liphshiz, sun-sentinel.com, "In Eastern Europe, Holocaust museums are missing from key historical sites," 30 July 2019 There have been rumors—denied by Team Boris—that Johnson, who was far ahead, had directed some of his supporters to vote for Hunt, just to spite Gove. — Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, "Here Comes Boris Johnson!," 21 June 2019 But before the Victoria Memorial Hall had even been completed, in 1921, the prince—by then King George V—had moved the capital of British India from Calcutta to Delhi to spite the city’s vocal nationalists. — Maya Jasanoff, The New York Review of Books, "Lost Calcutta," 23 May 2019 Blocking qualified judges merely to spite Mr. Trump won’t impress GOP voters in a New Hampshire primary in 2020. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "O Come All Ye Judges," 25 Nov. 2018 Chris JacksonGetty Images Kate Middleton and Prince William have arrived for a visit to seaside town Blackpool, and to spite the dreary weather, Kate is dressed in a vibrant outfit. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Kate Middleton Braves the Rain in an Olive Sportsmax Coat and Manu Atelier Clutch," 6 Mar. 2019 In fact, the attacker will take it one step further, and join fierce rivals Barcelona instead - simply to spite Los Blancos. — SI.com, "Report Claims Mohamed Salah Has 'Decided Against' Real Madrid Move for Ridiculous Reason," 12 June 2018 Toure's damning assessment of Guardiola - who has managed him at two separate clubs - arrived alongside the Ivorian's offer to play for another top six side for only £1 per week in order to spite Guardiola. — SI.com, "'I Never Saw Something Racist': De Bruyne Defends Pep Guardiola Over Yaya Toure's Anti-African Claim," 6 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spite.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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