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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Recent Examples of spiteful
Share [Findings] Unaffiliated voters are growing more spiteful toward both Democrats and Republicans.
—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 22 Jan. 2025
Iannucci may spin stories of spiteful people, but Iannucci the person is different.
—John Baldoni, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
This sequel was similar in its angry, bleak tone but amped up with little of the polish that some in Washington had hoped would signal Trump’s second term might be less spiteful than the first go-around.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 20 Jan. 2025
The end of the JCPOA made a spiteful Iran even more aggressive.
—Ali Vaez, Foreign Affairs, 8 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for spiteful
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 22 Jan. 2025
Iannucci may spin stories of spiteful people, but Iannucci the person is different.
—John Baldoni, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
This sequel was similar in its angry, bleak tone but amped up with little of the polish that some in Washington had hoped would signal Trump’s second term might be less spiteful than the first go-around.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 20 Jan. 2025
The end of the JCPOA made a spiteful Iran even more aggressive.
—Ali Vaez, Foreign Affairs, 8 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for spiteful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiteful
Adjective
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These emails might include malicious links designed to install malware or steal login information.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
FOXNews.com,
16 Apr. 2025
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Time to update: Apple has discovered hackers exploiting an iOS bug via malicious media files.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Everybody else has no choice, really, other than to bring a cruel, narcissistic far-right leader to power.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2025
-
The cruelest part is that the good ones are mixed with the bad ones.—
Matt Rivers,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
This was a vicious weaponization of your government.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
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Shauna may be the vicious Antler Queen now, but Lottie also played a role in Mari’s death.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The antisemitic charge is a slur in its own right, tainting a broad range of institutions with a single hateful brush.—
Jonathan Zimmerman,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2025
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Prater, a graduate student in her first season with the Bulldogs, appeared to disable her comment section on some of her Instagram posts after facing an influx of hateful messages following the devastating injury Watkins suffered in the first half of their second round game.—
Paulina Dedaj,
FOXNews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Switching out a pump in a pit filled with raw sewage is nasty work.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
12 Apr. 2025
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The bear is back and things may stay nasty for the rest of 2025.—
Brett Owens,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spiteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiteful. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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