as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
despiteful treatment of his poor relations during their visit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despiteful
Adjective
-
Their malicious actions are putting the health of people, especially children, at grave risk, and will surely lead to future public health and migration crises in the U.S. – let alone suffering around the globe.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
3 Feb. 2025 -
National Security Meet the man leading the front-line effort in Ukraine's cyberwar with Russia Sources speculate that the messages were artfully crafted to not use specific slurs, possibly sketchy URLs or obviously malicious language that filters would catch.—
Jenna McLaughlin,
NPR,
2 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The current government’s purposeful misrepresentation and defamation of DEI in such a comprehensively cruel and malicious manner deserves nothing less than personal and communal outrage and resistance.—
Dr. Tony Lux,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
-
Immigrant advocates call those moves cruel and unnecessary.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The fans were on their feet and roaring after UCLA center Mara threw an outlet pass reminiscent of legendary predecessor Bill Walton to Eric Dailey Jr. for a vicious one-handed dunk.—
Houston Mitchell,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2025
-
Viewers not familiar with Housewives might not realize that Dolores, who thus far this season has been very levelheaded, has a vicious, scrappy alter ego by the name of Patterson Dolores, after her New Jersey stomping grounds.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
However the two teens entered this online subculture, their writings reveal despair about their personal lives and the world around them and expressed violent, hateful views.—
Phoebe Petrovic,
ProPublica,
25 Jan. 2025
-
Meta also updated its hateful conduct policy to roll back protections for certain groups, including women and LGBTQ+ people.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN,
23 Jan. 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 despiteful
Cite this Entry
“Despiteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despiteful. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share