What is "spite of"

Spite \Spite\, n. [Abbreviated fr. despite.]

1. Ill-will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; petty malice; grudge; rancor; despite.
   --Pope.

   This is the deadly spite that angers.
   --Shak.

2. Vexation; chargrin; mortification. [R.]
   --Shak.

   In spite of, or Spite of, in opposition to all efforts of; in defiance or contempt of; notwithstanding. ``Continuing, spite of pain, to use a knee after it had been slightly injured.''
   --H. Spenser. ``And saved me in spite of the world, the devil, and myself.''
   --South. ``In spite of all applications, the patient grew worse every day.''
   --Arbuthnot. See Syn. under Notwithstanding.

   To owe one a spite, to entertain a mean hatred for him.

   Syn: Pique, rancor; malevolence; grudge.

   Usage: Spite, Malice. Malice has more reference to the disposition, and spite to the manifestation of it in words and actions. It is, therefore, meaner than malice, thought not always more criminal. `` Malice . . . is more frequently employed to express the dispositions of inferior minds to execute every purpose of mischief within the more limited circle of their abilities.''
   --Cogan. ``Consider eke, that spite availeth naught.''
   --Wyatt. See Pique.