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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spitefulness
Noun
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Officers arrested Granger on Tuesday and charged him with rape, aggravated assault, malice murder, and two counts of felony murder.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026 -
Peterson said there was no evidence of malice by Dance and that good faith is presumed for public officers.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The woman who was bitten, later identified as 46-year-old Gabriela Bautista of Moorpark, died March 19 as a result of rattlesnake venom toxicity, the Ventura County medical examiner’s office told KTLA.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
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Do not apply a tourniquet, slash the wound with a knife or attempt to suck out the venom, officials warned.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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What was disturbing were people who sped past a foot away from elderly people, shouting obscenities with faces twisted in hatred.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
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Këkht Aräkh is not unique in his loneliness; the pain of being alone is as thematically central to DSBM as the hatred of Christianity.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The post-liberals stand for cruelty and inanity, but Brooks can’t admit to standing for much of anything at all.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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In an era of near continuous cruelty by the administration, the imprisonment of the boy and his father attracted massive media and political attention and eventually saw both released on February 1.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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More than this, or in spite of this, Tim was clever and silly.—
Cassandra Neyenesch,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
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This week's exercise is a great way to improve core strength while choosing to become active, either in spite of or in alignment with one's social network.—
Matt Parrott,
Arkansas Online,
29 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Spitefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spitefulness. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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