How to spell despite

Despite is spelled D-E-S-P-I-T-E.

hear itde·spite/dɪ'spaɪt/prepositionRules and real life

What it means: In spite of; regardless of something.

In a sentence: Despite the rain, we played outside.

Same family: despise, despicable, spite, spiteful, contempt. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Despite comes from Old French "despit" and Latin "despectus," meaning "a looking down on," which is why it carries a strong sense of contempt. Over time, English also developed the preposition "despite" (as in "despite the rain"), which is historically related but used very differently from the older noun meaning intense dislike.

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