SPITEFULNESS Synonyms: 81 Similar and Opposite Words

spitefulness

noun

as in malice

the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm cut down their neighbors' tree out of sheer spitefulness

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spitefulness

Noun

But on Wednesday, the jury in the latest trial found that MGA had not acted with malice, meaning no punitive damages would be awarded.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 2 July 2026
The company’s own investigation points less to malice than to a process that never engaged.

— Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

Definition of malice

Noun

Public Luxury is less a dissertation on those tenets than an emotional response to the struggle to achieve it—mouths dripping with venom, eyes swollen with tears, hearts heavy with love.

— Matthew Ismael Ruiz, Pitchfork, 26 June 2026
One common misconception is that lionfish are inedible because of their venom.

— Rachel Nuwer, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 June 2026

Definition of venom

Noun

According to the Sheriff’s Office, a judge released Cruz on his own recognizance June 4 following his arraignment on felony animal cruelty charges in Sacramento Superior Court.

— Velvet Wu July 1, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026
At one point, the narrator, embarrassed by his own act of cruelty, gives a sobbing woman all his money and then leaves her alone in a hotel room.

— Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 1 July 2026

Definition of cruelty

Noun

In spite of their original values of humanitarianism and neutrality, these organizations have been morally debased from within, using the language of human rights and international justice yet deploying it on behalf of autocracies and against the liberal democracies that created them.

— Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
The ball got away from Witt at short in spite of his best efforts to keep it on the infield.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 27 June 2026

Definition of spite

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spitefully

spitefulness

spites

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“Spitefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spitefulness. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of spitefulness

noun

Example Sentences

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