despiteful

adjective

di-ˈspīt-fəl How to pronounce despiteful (audio)
Definition of despitefulnext
as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it despiteful treatment of his poor relations during their visit

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for despiteful
  1. malicious
  2. cruel
  3. vicious
  4. hateful
Adjective
  • Once installed, the malicious app pushes you to enable Android's Accessibility service.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Companies should detect prompt injection, malicious or compromised tools, behavioral anomalies, data exfiltration and other threats.
    — Shashwat Sehgal, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of malicious
Adjective
  • The policy of sending them to a third country has been condemned as harsh and cruel.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Eight men were killed via gassing until an Alabama district judge ruled the execution method unconstitutionally cruel, in June; the Supreme Court has maintained the block.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • Experts are voicing concerns over the vicious cycle of rising debt and higher yields.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Verity dwells almost entirely in the gulf between the front-facing celeb being interviewed by Alex Cooper and the vicious private thoughts of her confession.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of vicious
Adjective
  • The fanbase has been labeled as hateful by the media, opposing players and even A'ja Wilson's mom.
    — Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The apology was met with a lukewarm reaction from a public that had watched the rapper’s troubling antics and hateful statements for years.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of hateful
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

despite
despiteful
despitefully
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Cite this Entry

“Despiteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despiteful. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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