1
: petty ill will or hatred with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart
2
: an instance of spite
spited; spiting
2
: to treat maliciously (as by shaming or thwarting)
Synonyms
Examples of spite in a Sentence
Noun
He is jealous and full of spite.
spread cruel lies out of pure spite
Verb
He only did it to spite me.
sometimes, I swear, she keeps doing that just to spite me
Recent Examples on the Web
Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 3 July 2024
In spite of its melodramatic structure, which the film’s producers applied as a way to remold its timely, social-realist subject matter, the film slyly sidesteps generic formulas and flies in the face of feminine heroine archetypes.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 1 July 2024
Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Joy felt these performances were meant in part to spite her, to prove that her complaints about his new demeanor were unfounded.
—Scott Sayare Robert Petkoff Anna Diamond Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for spite 
Noun
In spite of all the legal troubles, Diddy has been busying himself by clearing out his Instagram and going whitewater rafting.
—Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 3 July 2024
In spite of its melodramatic structure, which the film’s producers applied as a way to remold its timely, social-realist subject matter, the film slyly sidesteps generic formulas and flies in the face of feminine heroine archetypes.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 1 July 2024
Verb
Jimmy Kimmel may host the Oscars a fifth time just to spite former President Donald Trump.
—Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Joy felt these performances were meant in part to spite her, to prove that her complaints about his new demeanor were unfounded.
—Scott Sayare Robert Petkoff Anna Diamond Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for spite
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near spite
Cite this Entry
“Spite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spite. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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