despiteful - Glite Dictionary

Examples

Her despiteful words left a lasting wound on his reputation.
The despiteful actions of the villain were central to the story.
Even in defeat, he remained despiteful towards his former friends.
She made a despiteful comment about his failure.
Even in defeat, he remained despiteful towards his former friends, refusing to show any kindness.
Her despiteful words during the argument clearly expressed her desire to hurt his feelings.
His despiteful actions in the workplace, driven by jealousy, alienated his colleagues.

Synonyms

mean

vsdespiteful

699 2.2

Unkind and cruel toward other people

is harsher and more driven by a desire for revenge than simple unkindness

hateful

vsdespiteful

116 3.6

Making people feel strong dislike or anger

is focused more on harmful ill will and revenge than pure hate

malicious

vsdespiteful

89 5.8

Wanting to hurt someone or damage their good name

is driven by desire for revenge and harsher personal ill will than mere harm intent

vindictive

vsdespiteful

46 7.9

Wanting strongly to hurt someone who hurt you

also includes broader harmful ill will beyond just revenge seeking

vengeful

vsdespiteful

37 6.9

Wanting to harm someone because they hurt you

is broader, including harmful intent and desire to hurt beyond only retaliation

spiteful

vsdespiteful

23 5.1

Wanting to hurt or upset someone on purpose

is broader, including general ill will and revenge motivation

revengeful

vsdespiteful

2 5.8

Wanting to hurt someone who hurt you

is wider, covering general ill will and spite not only retaliation

meanspirited

vsdespiteful

Offensive

7.4

Unkind and petty in a way that hurts other people

is more driven to harm than merely showing petty unkindness

Antonyms

kind

534 1.0

Being helpful and caring toward other people

benevolent

53 5.1

Willing to help other people and give them things they need

How Spiteful

vindictive

46 7.9

despiteful

Archaic

9.9

malicious

89 5.8

mean

699 2.2

unkind

44 1.0

Surface Forms

despiteful positive

Morphology

despiteful = despite (semi-transparent) = despite + ful

The adjective is formed by adding '-ful' to the noun 'despite' meaning 'spite', but learners typically know 'despite' as the preposition 'in spite of', so the derivation may not be obvious.

Etymology

Despiteful comes from despite, an old word meaning 'spite' or 'scorn', and is closely related to the everyday word spite. So despiteful means 'full of spite', which is why it describes someone who wants to hurt others.