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
-
The nation needed a president who could hold the pieces together, waging war when it was thrust upon him, urging malice toward none when the situation--or state, or congressman, or issue--changed.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
12 Feb. 2025 -
Donald Trump seems to prefer malice toward all and charity for none.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
For the program, the zoo takes the collected and recorded spiders and milks them for their venom so the material can used to make anti-venom.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
9 Jan. 2025
-
Their stingers deliver as much venom as a snake or seven times that of a honeybee.—
Shi En Kim,
Smithsonian Magazine,
20 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
He’s been terrified, in love, hit in the head and, most often, in a state of bitter hatred.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
7 Feb. 2025
-
There was a conscious decision made not to blow up the church, because that's so symbolic of hatred, and that was a sacred building for the entire Walnut Grove community on the show and off the show.—
Kristen Baldwin,
EW.com,
6 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Kyle Vigneault, 27, faces charges of first-degree manslaughter, risk of injury to a child and cruelty to persons, according to the Norwalk Police Department.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
13 Feb. 2025
-
Instead, her countenance is ambiguous — stern, perhaps capable of cruelty, but not without a hint of kindness, as viewers have told him.—
Cody Cottier,
Discover Magazine,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
In his short time since arriving, Sands had helped his team remain tough to beat, in spite of a debilitating injury list, while also allowing the intricacy of the attacking football to improve.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
The Athletic,
16 Feb. 2025
-
While not taking on any particular political structure, the pre-taped bit perfectly attacks the racial prejudice society was still beholden to (and some might say still is) in spite of the 20 years that had passed since the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
15 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.
Thesaurus Entries Near spitefulness
Cite this Entry
“Spitefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spitefulness. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share