spiteful

Etymology

It is formed from English spite + -ful.^[2][3][4][5] The noun is an aphetic form of despite,^[2][6][7] from Old French despit (“scorn, ill will”),^[2][8][6] from Latin dēspectus, the past participle of dēspiciō (“to look down on”), the source of despise.^[8] Middle English had earlier spitous, "contemptuous, malicious", shortened from despitous.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Expressing contempt or disdain: about 1440, in a collection of political, religious and love poems.^[2] Etymonline dates the sense "impious; shameful" to the early 15th century and "expressive of disdain" to the mid-15th,^[3] and Dictionary.com dates the word to 1400–50.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The first senses follow the older meaning of spite, contempt and disdain,^[3][2] and they died out: "contemptuous" by 1684 and "disgraceful" by 1595.^[2][4] The modern sense, full of malice, appears in 1490 in Caxton's Eneydos,^[2][3] and spread from people to the tongue and words (1557) and to feelings and actions (1560).^[2] For a time the word could also mean "distressing, vexing" (1548–1633),^[2] and as an adverb "excessively" (about 1450–1548).^[2][4] Johnson (1755) has only "malicious; malignant".^[10] In the north of England and Yorkshire it could also mean "severe, bitter", of wind and rain, a use the English Dialect Dictionary marks as obsolete or dying out.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1440 – contemptuous, disdainful (obsolete by 1684).^[2]
• c. 1450 – adverb, excessively (obsolete by 1548).^[2]
• 1490 – malicious, malevolent, in Caxton.^[2]
• 1548 – distressing, vexing (obsolete by 1633).^[2]
• 1550 – disgraceful, shameful (obsolete by 1595).^[2]
• 1557 – of the tongue or words.^[2]
• 1560 – of feelings or actions.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Full of or driven by spite; malicious, wanting to hurt or annoy: a spiteful old neighbour.^[12][5][2]
2. Of words or actions, showing spite: She sent him a spiteful letter.^[2][4][5]
3. (obsolete, c. 1440–1684) Expressing contempt or disdain.^[2][4]
4. (obsolete, 1550–95) Bringing contempt; shameful.^[2][4]

Word family

• spitefully
• spitefulness
• unspiteful

Related words

• spite
• despite
• despise

Usage notes

Dictionary.com distinguishes spiteful, which suggests a mean, often petty wish to get one's own back, from revengeful, a deep and lasting intent to repay a wrong, and vindictive, which stresses an unforgiving nature and need not imply action.^[9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
9. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
12. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins