noun
spite
spyt
noun
1
A petty desire to annoy, hurt, or upset someone.
"She only said it out of spite, not because it was true."
"He canceled the trip purely out of spite toward his brother."
verb
1
To deliberately annoy, hurt, or thwart someone.
"He moved the fence a foot over just to spite his neighbor."
preposition
1
In the phrase "in spite of," meaning despite or notwithstanding.
"In spite of the rain, the match went ahead."
How to Use Spite
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA small, mean urge to upset someone, or (as "in spite of") a way of saying "despite."
Common mistake
Don't confuse the noun "spite" (ill will) with the unrelated verb "spit."
Easily confused with
Common pairings
out of spite
in spite of
pure spite
Word Forms
spited past tense, spites plural, spites singular
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She only said it out of _____, not because it was true.
Etymology
A shortened form of Middle English despit, itself from Old French despit and Latin dēspectus, "looking down on" — the same root as "despise" and "despite."