maliciousness involving the desire to harm another; venomous ill will an instance of such malice; grudge something that induces vexation - in spite of ⇒ (preposition)
in defiance of; regardless of; notwithstanding
to annoy in order to vent spite
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
spite /spaɪt/USA pronunciation
n., v., spit•ed, spit•ing.
n. [uncountable]
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025n. [uncountable]
- a mean, narrow-minded desire to harm another person;
malice:He was mean to her just from spite.
v. [~ + object]
- to treat with spite;
hurt or annoy:I'm sure they turned her down just to spite me.
- Idioms in spite of, [~ + object] in disregard or defiance of:In spite of repeated warnings, she continued to smoke.
- in spite of oneself, in disregard of one's best efforts not to do something;
unwillingly:Even though I was angry at them, I had to smile at their silliness in spite of myself.
spite
(spīt),USA pronunciation n., v., spit•ed, spit•ing.
n.
v.t.
spite′less, adj.
n.
- a malicious, usually petty, desire to harm, annoy, frustrate, or humiliate another person;
bitter ill will;
malice. - a particular instance of such an attitude or action;
grudge. - [Obs.]something that causes vexation;
annoyance. - in spite of, in disregard or defiance of;
notwithstanding;
despite:She arrived at school on time in spite of the snowstorm.
v.t.
- to treat with spite or malice.
- to annoy or thwart, out of spite.
- to fill with spite;
vex;
offend. - cut off one's nose to spite one's face. See nose (def. 14).
- 1250–1300; Middle English; aphetic variant of despite
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged malevolence, maliciousness, rancor, venom, spleen. See grudge.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged See notwithstanding.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'in spite of the fact that' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):