Spite is the desire to hurt, annoy, or upset someone, especially on purpose and often over something small. It is a kind of mean-spirited anger.
From Middle English, from Old French “despit,” from Latin “despectus” meaning “a looking down on, scorn.” Over time, the idea of scorn turned into the active wish to hurt or annoy someone.
When people act ‘out of spite,’ they’re often willing to hurt themselves a little just to hurt someone else more. The phrase “cut off your nose to spite your face” perfectly captures how self-destructive spite can be.
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