/ˈspaɪt.fəl/
形容词,意为"怀有恶意的、出于怨恨的",形容一个人故意做出伤害他人的行为,通常是因为嫉妒、怨恨或报复心理。
She made a spiteful comment about her colleague's appearance.
她对同事的外貌说了一句恶意的评论。
Despite his calm demeanor, he could be surprisingly spiteful when he felt someone had wronged him, going out of his way to cause them trouble.
尽管他表面上很镇定,但当他觉得有人冒犯了他时,他会出人意料地心怀恶意,想方设法给对方制造麻烦。
由名词 spite(恶意、怨恨)加上后缀 -ful(充满……的)构成。spite 源自古法语 despit,意为"蔑视、轻视",最终可追溯到拉丁语 despectus,即 despicere(俯视、鄙视)的过去分词。该词在中古英语时期缩短为 spite,逐渐演变为"恶意、怨恨"的含义。加上 -ful 后缀后,表示"充满恶意的"。