Vitriol vs Spite - What's the difference?
vitriol | spite |
(dated) sulphuric acid and various metal sulphates
(by extension) bitterly abusive language
* 2012 November 2, Ken Belson, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/sports/new-york-city-marathon-will-not-be-held-sunday.html?hp&_r=0]," New York Times (retrieved 2 November 2012):
Ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; a desire to vex or injure; petty malice; grudge; rancor.
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) Vexation; chagrin; mortification.
To treat maliciously; to try to injure or thwart.
(obsolete) To be angry at; to hate.
To fill with spite; to offend; to vex.
As nouns the difference between vitriol and spite
is that vitriol is vitriol (sulfuric acid) while spite is ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; a desire to vex or injure; petty malice; grudge; rancor.As a verb spite is
to treat maliciously; to try to injure or thwart.As a preposition spite is
notwithstanding; despite.vitriol
English
Noun
(en noun)- For days, online forums sparked with outrage against politicians and race organizers, a tone that turned to vitriol against runners, even from some shaming other runners for being selfish.
Derived terms
* vitriolic * oil of vitriol * blue vitriol * green vitriol * hurl vitriol * iron vitriol * white vitriolspite
English
Etymology 1
From a shortening of (etyl) despit, from (etyl) despit (whence despite). Compare also Dutch spijt.Noun
(en-noun)- He was so filled with spite for his ex-wife, he could not hold down a job.
- They did it just for spite .
- This is the deadly spite that angers.
- "The time is out of joint: O cursed spite." Shakespeare, Hamlet
Verb
(spit)- She soon married again, to spite her ex-husband.
- The Danes, then pagans, spited places of religion. — Fuller.
- Darius, spited at the Magi, endeavoured to abolish not only their learning, but their language. — Sir. W. Temple.