Spite n.
 1. Ill-will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; petty malice; grudge; rancor; despite.
    This is the deadly spite that angers.   --Shak.
 2. Vexation; chargrin; mortification. [R.]
 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 injured.” --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.