as in disdain
open dislike for someone or something considered unworthy of one's concern or respect
the undisguised despitefulness with which the fashion designer announces his "10 worst" list
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despitefulness
Noun
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Until then, the SPLC mainly made money off of its donor base’s disdain toward the Ku Klux Klan.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Apr. 2026 -
Part of what made La Peste distinctive was the vocal balance Dayton struck, between disdain and an almost deadpan affect.—
Eric R. Danton,
Pitchfork,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Find something else to illustrate your contempt, not this image.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
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Which is why Aunt Vidala’s struggle to conceal her contempt for Aunt Lydia has been difficult to understand.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In the centuries since colonists waged war against the crown, American’s attitudes toward the royals have shifted from hatred to adoration.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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But the War on Terror persisted and mutated into nightmares in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then Syria, which unleashed that darkness in the form of terrorist states and a refugee crisis that spread anti-Muslim and anti-migrant hatred to Europe, the United States, and beyond.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Despitefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despitefulness. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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