Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Malicious ill will prompting an urge to hurt or humiliate another person.
  • transitive verb To treat with spite; show spite toward.
  • idiom (in spite of) Not stopped by; regardless of.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Injury; mischief; shame; disgrace; dishonor.
  • noun A disposition to thwart and disappoint the wishes of another; ill-will; malevolence; malice; grudge; rancor.
  • noun Chagrin; vexation; ill luck; trouble.
  • noun Synonyms Animosity, Ill-will, Enmity, etc. (see animosity), pique, spleen, defiance. In spite of, Despite, etc. See not-withstanding.
  • To dislike; regard with ill-will.
  • To thwart; cross; mortify; treat maliciously: as, to cut off one's nose to spite one's face.
  • To fill with vexation; offend.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To be angry at; to hate.
  • transitive verb To treat maliciously; to try to injure or thwart.
  • transitive verb rare To fill with spite; to offend; to vex.
  • noun Ill-will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; petty malice; grudge; rancor; despite.
  • noun rare Vexation; chargrin; mortification.
  • noun in opposition to all efforts of; in defiance or contempt of; notwithstanding.
  • noun to entertain a mean hatred for him.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • preposition Notwithstanding; despite.
  • noun Ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; a desire to vex or injure; petty malice; grudge; rancor.
  • noun Vexation; chagrin; mortification.
  • verb transitive To treat maliciously; to try to injure or thwart.
  • verb transitive, obsolete To be angry at; to hate.
  • verb transitive To fill with spite; to offend; to vex.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb hurt the feelings of
  • noun malevolence by virtue of being malicious or spiteful or nasty
  • noun feeling a need to see others suffer

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, short for despit; see despite.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From a shortening of Middle English despit, from Old French despit (whence despite). Cf. also Dutch spijt.

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Examples

  • And yet, in spite of that -- in _spite_ of that, I say -- we have thus far held the enemy at a standstill.

    The Destroyers Randall Garrett 1957

  • And yet in the very face of these plain, incontrovertible, all-visible facts, we go on from year to year with the base system of Academy teaching, in spite of which every one of these men has risen: I say _in spite_ of the entire method and aim of our art-teaching.

    Lectures on Architecture and Painting Delivered at Edinburgh in November 1853 John Ruskin 1859

  • "Now I arise," any extraordinary accession to the business, as it is technically called, of the scene: for I do not think that his resuming his magical robe was in any way necessary to account for the slumber which overcomes Miranda, "in spite of her interest in her father's story," and which Mr. Collier says the commentators have endeavored to account for in various ways; but putting "_because_ of her interest in her father's story," instead of "_in spite_ of," I feel none of the difficulty which beset the commentators, and which Mr. Collier conjures by the stage-direction which makes Prospero resume his magic robe at

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 06, No. 35, September, 1860 Various

  • People have died for that vote you are going to make, and to use it in spite is shamefull.

    Clinton campaigns in SD, hits McCain on Farm Bill 2008

  • Your spite is a cancer that affects you and those around you.

    Clinton win leads to Obama boost 2008

  • If memory serves, you're description of Smith was in spite of him not really filling the role of leader of the party until the previous Budget (November '93), where he really tore Clarke to shread's.

    The Day John Smith Died Alan Smart 2009

  • Nearly 20 years later, there is plenty of research and scientific consensus on the health effects ofincineration, in spite of what SEPA officials may claim.

    Archive 2009-06-01 Alan Smart 2009

  • Nearly 20 years later, there is plenty of research and scientific consensus on the health effects ofincineration, in spite of what SEPA officials may claim.

    Greengairs Incinerator Alan Smart 2009

  • Hmmm … I love the idea of a whole host of characters who make us love them in spite of how messed up their thinking is!

    Distortion Theory « Tales from the Reading Room 2009

  • I made the mistake of not reading The Hours first and the movie was so atrocious that I have not been able to bring myself to read the book in spite of knowing Cunningham did a good job and is a passsionate Woolf and Mrs. Dalloway fan.

    Virginia Woolf’s Nose « Tales from the Reading Room 2010

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