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Mr. Tom Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

The use of "spite" as a verb

Hi

I've seen the use of "spite" as verb only in the expression "cut off one's nose to spite one's face". I'd like to know if native speakers use spite as verb in their everyday English. How do you find the following sentence?

I've a gut feeling that he wants to spite her.

Thanks,

Tom
  

Top answer

Mr. Tom, The sentence in question is both understandable and adequate from the viewpoint of native English speakers. Apart from its use in idioms, spite has the following meaning: 'to deliberately upset someone or cause them problems'.

— Andriy Lapin

  • Mr.
  • Tom, The sentence in question is both understandable and adequate from the viewpoint of native English speakers.
  • Apart from its use in idioms, spite has the following meaning: 'to deliberately upset someone or cause them problems'.
  • There is no reason why it should not be used in everyday English speech, but please pay attention to the fact that its use is restricted to infinitive only.
  • One example from a real conversation is the following: She was prepared to marry him just to spite her parents .
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1 Answers
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Mr. Tom,

The sentence in question is both understandable and adequate from the viewpoint of native English speakers. Apart from its use in idioms, spite has the following meaning: 'to deliberately upset someone or cause them problems'. There is no reason why it should not be used in everyday English speech, but please pay attention to the fact that its use is restricted to infini
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