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Literary notes about spiteful (AI summary)

The word “spiteful” serves as a precise tool for evoking deep-seated antagonism and bitterness in literature. Writers assign the term to characters whose feelings are marked by deliberate malice or a vindictive nature, as when a character is seen as both hurtful and yet paradoxically affectionate ([1]). It also colors the surrounding atmosphere, imparting a sense of gloom and resentment to settings or actions—for instance, describing a lingering, harsh winter imbued with hostility ([2]). In dialogue, “spiteful” sharpens verbal exchanges, lending an edge of sarcasm or scorn that intensifies interpersonal conflict ([3], [4]). Overall, the adjective enriches narrative layers by capturing the multifaceted presence of resentful, negative energies in characters and their environments ([5], [6]).
  1. “There is something spiteful and yet open-hearted about you,” Alyosha smiled to her.
    — from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  2. Winter, dark, long, and spiteful, was hardly over; spring had come all of a sudden.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  3. “They say that that’s a difficult task, that nothing’s amusing that isn’t spiteful,” he began with a smile.
    — from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy
  4. "Well, then, so far as I am concerned thou mayst go, but thou wilt soon come home again!" replied the old man in a spiteful voice.
    — from Household Tales by Brothers Grimm by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm
  5. The unhappy are egoistic, spiteful, unjust, cruel, and less capable of understanding each other than fools.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  6. In the morning I would get up more spiteful than a dog, ready to tear the whole world to pieces.
    — from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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