spite means ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the desire to unjustifiably irritate, annoy, or thwart; a want to disturb or put out another; mild malice. It carries an Arena rating of 1465, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, spite ranks #327 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,889 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,892 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,538 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
spite is pronounced /spaɪt/.
Why “spite” is a great word
Petty ill will or hatred with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart another. Its lineage descends from the Latin *dēspiciō*, “to look down upon,” arriving in English through Old French *despit*, “contempt.” Unlike malice, which implies a profound, often premeditated desire to cause suffering, spite is the currency of the pettier soul, focused on the small, sharp victory of thwarting or irritating. It is the deliberate parking too close to a neighbor’s car, the withholding of a trivial compliment, or the sugarless cup of coffee served with a thin smile—the quiet, bitter pleasure of watching another’s minor inconvenience bloom from your own indifferent hand.
Etymology
From Middle English spit, a shortening of despit (whence despite), from Old French despit, from Latin dēspectum (“looking down on”), from Latin dēspiciō (“to look down, despise”). Compare also North Frisian spīt, spīd (“regret”), Saterland Frisian Spiet (“regret, remorse”), West Frisian spyt (“regret”), Dutch spijt (“regret, remorse”), German Low German Spiet (“anger, regret, remorse”), German Spiet (“annoyance, vexation”), Swedish spit (“insult, outrage, annoyance”), Norwegian spit (“insult, outrage, annoyance”).
noun
- Ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the desire to unjustifiably irritate, annoy, or thwart; a want to disturb or put out another; mild malice.e.g.“He was so filled with spite for his ex-wife, his brother was afraid of what he might do.”
- Vexation; chagrin; mortification.e.g.“"The time is out of joint: O cursed spite."” — c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggar
verb
- To treat maliciously; to try to hurt or thwart.e.g.“She soon married again, to spite her ex-husband.”
- To be angry at; to hate.e.g.“The Danes, then […] pagans, principally spited places of religion.” — 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):
- To fill with spite; to offend; to vex.
prep
- Notwithstanding; despite.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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