as in malice
the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm
cut down their neighbors' tree out of sheer spitefulness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spitefulness
Noun
-
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s profoundly unqualified defense secretary, made the malice clear by calling explicitly for Brown’s ouster along with that of any other officer involved with DEI.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Feb. 2025 -
Woe’s Hollow is where Kier Eagan first tamed the four tempers of the human soul: woe, frolic, dread, and malice.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Common triggers include certain foods, some medications, insect venom and latex.—
Maureen Mackey,
Fox News,
2 Mar. 2025
-
The first is that his barbed interventions could signal the full-scale arrival in Europe of the kind of online venom, misinformation, and conspiracy theories – and the angry polarization – that have poisoned American politics.—
Ned Temko,
The Christian Science Monitor,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Democrats, blinded by their hatred of him, have ignored this.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
-
Debra Messing, who has produced a new documentary on (horseshoe-theory) antisemitism called October 8, has been one of Hollywood’s few intensely admirable exceptions, calling out anti-Jewish hatred with a fierce constancy over the past 16 months.—
Steven Zeitchik,
The Hollywood Reporter,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
He is also charged with third- and fourth-degree weapons charges related to possession of a golf club and knife, as well as animal cruelty related to the death of a family cat.—
Audrey Conklin,
Fox News,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Ex-College Soccer Player Accused of Killing Fellow Athlete Brother, Cat Using Knife, Golf Club: Prosecutors He was also charged with animal cruelty for allegedly killing a cat who lived in the apartment.—
Christine Pelisek,
People.com,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
In spite of its high levels of salinity, Utah’s Great Salt Lake harbors all sorts of resident and migratory bird species throughout the year—and for anyone wishing to discover the rich biodiversity of the region firsthand, Antelope Island is the perfect spot.—
Jared Ranahan,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
-
The desire to avoid portraying her character’s actions as simply disgusting led de Van to play the lead role herself, in spite of the challenges that created for her as a first-time feature director.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Spitefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spitefulness. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share