Spites

Spite is a term used to describe petty malice or vindictive behavior toward others. It functions as both a noun and a verb: as a noun, it refers to ill will or a spiteful act; as a verb, to spite someone means to deliberately thwart or hurt them out of spite. Spiteful acts are often performed without clear personal gain and may fail to achieve their stated aims.

In everyday language, actions described as done out of spite are motivated by a desire to irritate, humiliate, or retaliate for a perceived wrong. Spite can drive petty pranks, unnecessarily refused favors, or sabotaging efforts that would otherwise help the actor.

In psychology and evolutionary biology, spite is a formal concept for behavior that imposes costs on both the actor and the recipient. Its adaptive value, if any, depends on social context and relatedness; some models view spite as a mechanism to punish non-cooperative individuals or influence competition, though it is costly and not universally favored by natural selection.

Culturally, the notion of spite appears in literature and everyday life, and it has given rise to related terms such as spite fences or spite houses—structures built to annoy neighbors rather than to serve a practical purpose. Spite remains a standard descriptor for actions marked by petty, vindictive motive rather than rational self-interest.