spite

/spaɪt/

//spaɪt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"spite" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spite” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,741. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,741
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the desire to unjustifiably irritate, annoy, or thwart; a want to disturb or put out another; mild malice

Corpus desk

Index EN-spite · spite · English

spite · rank #6,741 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,741
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH soda

Nearest frequency peer: soda (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “spite”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “spite” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

spite vs spot
60% similar
spite vs suit
60% similar
spite vs state
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for spite
PropertyValue
Headwordspite
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spaɪt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,741
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spite”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).spitelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “soda” (#6,740), “sponsor” (#6,742), “strengthen” (#6,743). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spite” is #6,741. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around spite (IPA /spaɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,741 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for spite, with forms such as "psite", "sipte", and "spiet". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "spot", "suit", "state", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English spit, a shortening of despit (whence despite), from Old French despit, from Latin dēspectum (“looking down on”), from Latin dēspiciō (“to look down, despise”). Compare also North Frisian spīt, spīd (“regret”), Saterland Frisian Spiet (“r… The correct English form is spite, spelled S-P-I-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the desire to unjustifiably irritate, annoy, or thwart; a want to disturb or put out another; mild malice
  2. 2
    Vexation; chagrin; mortification.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how spite appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He was so filled with spite for his ex-wife, his brother was afraid of what he might do.
  2. They did it just for spite.

Etymology

From Middle English spit, a shortening of despit (whence despite), from Old French despit, from Latin dēspectum (“looking down on”), from Latin dēspiciō (“to look down, despise”). Compare also North Frisian spīt, spīd (“regret”), Saterland Frisian Spiet (“regret, remorse”), West Frisian spyt (“regret”), Dutch spijt (“regret, remorse”), German Low German Spiet (“anger, regret, remorse”), German Spiet (“annoyance, vexation”), Swedish spit (“insult, outrage, annoyance”), Norwegian spit (“insult, outrage, annoyance”).

This word in other languages

despecho(Español)dépit(Français)Boshaftigkeit(Deutsch)rancor(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psite
  • sipte
  • spiet
  • spitte
  • sppite
  • sptie
  • sspite

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spite - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

psite2sipte2spiet2spitte1sppite1sptie2sspite1
Edit distance from "spite"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "spite"?
"spite" is spelled S-P-I-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /spaɪt/.
What does "spite" mean?
As a noun, "spite" means: Ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the desire to unjustifiably irritate, annoy, or thwart; a want to disturb or put out another; mild malice
What words are commonly confused with "spite"?
"spite" is commonly confused with "spot", "suit", "state". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spite"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spite" is /spaɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "spite"?
From Middle English spit, a shortening of despit (whence despite), from Old French despit, from Latin dēspectum (“looking down on”), from Latin dēspiciō (“to look down, despise”). Compare also North Frisian spīt, spīd (“regret”), Saterland Frisian... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "spite", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Singh#6,736burnt#6,765buyer#6,766cease#6,769

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

nails7 variantslogan7 variantsLGBT7 variantsdiffer7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list