SPITEFUL Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

spiteful

adjective

ˈspīt-fəl

as in malicious

having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it the gossip would utter the most vicious things with a spiteful smile

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of spiteful That the spiteful man sees only as far as the spiteful man can, and that can produce a work of art that is successful, but maybe not ultimately great. —

David Frum, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026 Tourette’s can feel spiteful and searches out the most upsetting tic for me personally and for those around me. —

Clayton Davis, Variety, 24 Feb. 2026 Melvin Williams, a professor of communication and media studies at Pace University, says the spiteful nature of Swift and Lively's texts doesn't reflect well on either woman − and both have probably lost some fans as a result. —

Charles Trepany, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026 If not for Camilla, who’d gone out of her way to take Regina in, even letting her share the bedroom with her and Lalla, the others wouldn’t have welcomed her—not out of spite, no, because none of them were spiteful after all, but out of indifference, selfishness, plain and simple. —

Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for spiteful

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiteful

Adjective

The malicious Iranian regime is our national enemy.

— Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
Under President John Adams, the Federalists sought to eradicate French ideological influence by raising the bar to citizenship, lowering the bar to deportation, and criminalizing malicious criticism of the federal government.

— Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026