Spite \Spite\, n. [Abbreviated fr. despite.]

1. Ill-will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; petty malice; grudge; rancor; despite. --Pope.

This is the deadly spite that angers. --Shak.

2. Vexation; chargrin; mortification. [R.]

--Shak.

In spite of, or Spite of, in opposition to all efforts of; in defiance or contempt of; notwithstanding. ``Continuing, spite of pain, to use a knee after it had been slightly ibnjured.'' --H. Spenser. ``And saved me in spite of the world, the devil, and myself.'' --South. ``In spite of all applications, the patient grew worse every day.'' --Arbuthnot. See Syn. under Notwithstanding.

To owe one a spite, to entertain a mean hatred for him.

Syn: Pique, rancor; malevolence; grudge.

Usage: Spite, Malice. Malice has more reference to the disposition, and spite to the manifestation of it in words and actions. It is, therefore, meaner than malice, thought not always more criminal. `` Malice . . . is more frequently employed to express the dispositions of inferior minds to execute every purpose of mischief within the more limited circle of their abilities.'' --Cogan. ``Consider eke, that spite availeth naught.'' --Wyatt. See Pique.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)