Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Spite
Spite
,Noun.
[Abbreviated fr.
despite
.] 1.
Ill-will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; petty malice; grudge; rancor; despite.
Pope.
This is the deadly
spite
that angers. Shakespeare
2.
Vexation; chargrin; mortification.
[R.]
Shak.
In spite of
, or Spite of
in opposition to all efforts of; in defiance or contempt of; notwithstanding.
“Continuing, spite of pain, to use a knee after it had been slightly injured.” H. Spenser.
“And saved me in spite of the world, the devil, and myself.” South.
“In spite of all applications, the patient grew worse every day.” Arbuthnot.
See Syn. under
– Notwithstanding
. To owe one a spite
, to entertain a mean hatred for him.
Syn. – Pique, rancor; malevolence; grudge.
– Spite
, Malice
. Malice has more reference to the disposition, and spite to the manifestation of it in words and actions. It is, therefore, meaner than malice, thought not always more criminal. “ Malice . . . is more frequently employed to express the dispositions of inferior minds to execute every purpose of mischief within the more limited circle of their abilities.” Cogan.
“Consider eke, that spite availeth naught.” Wyatt.
See Pique
. Spite
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Spited
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Spiting
.] 1.
To be angry at; to hate.
[Obs.]
The Danes, then . . . pagans,
spited
places of religion. Fuller.
2.
To treat maliciously; to try to injure or thwart.
3.
To fill with spite; to offend; to vex.
[R.]
Darius,
spited
at the Magi, endeavored to abolish not only their learning, but their language. Sir. W. Temple.
Webster 1828 Edition
Spite
SPITE
,Noun.
Spite, however, is not always synonymous with these words. It often denotes a less deliberate and fixed hatred than malice and malignity, and is often a sudden fit of ill will excited by temporary vexation. It is the effect of extreme irritation, and is accompanied with a desire of revenge, or at least a desire to vex the object of ill will.
Be gone, ye critics, and restrain your spite; Codrus writes on, and will for ever write.
In spite of, in opposition to all efforts; in defiance or contempt of. Sometimes spite of is used without in, but not elegantly. It is often used without expressing any malignity of meaning.
Whom God made use of to speak a word in season, and saved me in spite of the world, the devil and myself.
In spite of all applications, the patient grew worse every day.
To owe one a spite, to entertain a temporary hatred for something.
SPITE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To be angry or vexed at.2.
To mischief; to vex; to treat maliciously; to thwart.3.
To fill with spite or vexation; to offend; to vex.Darius, spited at the Magi, endeavored to abolish not only their learning but their language. [Not used.]
Definition 2024
spite
spite
English
Noun
spite (usually uncountable, plural spites)
- 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.
- He was so filled with spite for his ex-wife, he could not hold down a job.
- They did it just for spite.
- Shakespeare
- This is the deadly spite that angers.
- 1945 May, George Orwell, chapter 7, in Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, London: Secker & Warburg, OCLC 3655473:
- Out of spite, the human beings pretended not to believe that it was Snowball who had destroyed the windmill: they said that it had fallen down because the walls were too thin.
- (obsolete) Vexation; chagrin; mortification.
- "The time is out of joint: O cursed spite." Shakespeare, Hamlet
Translations
ill-will or hatred toward another; a desire to vex or injure
|
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vexation, chagrin, mortification
Verb
spite (third-person singular simple present spites, present participle spiting, simple past and past participle spited)
- (transitive) To treat maliciously; to try to injure or thwart.
- She soon married again, to spite her ex-husband.
- (transitive, obsolete) To be angry at; to hate.
- The Danes, then […] pagans, spited places of religion. — Fuller.
- (transitive) To fill with spite; to offend; to vex.
- Darius, spited at the Magi, endeavoured to abolish not only their learning, but their language. — Sir. W. Temple.
Related terms
Translations
to treat maliciously
See also
Etymology 2
Preposition
spite
Statistics
Most common English words before 1923: troops · meeting · corner · #899: spite · built · lower · lead