Disdain, contemptuous feelings, hatred.
"Despite his disdain for her, he found himself unable to ignore her kindness when she helped him during the storm."
"He won the award despite his opponent's protests."
Usage: Despite is not used as a noun in modern English, so it should never be replaced with words like disdain or hatred. Instead, use it only as a preposition to introduce a contrasting fact, such as "despite the rain."
To vex; to annoy; to offend contemptuously.
"I was spiteful enough to sneer at his achievements just to vex him."
"Despite is not used as a verb in standard English, so no such example exists."
Usage: Despite is not used as a verb in modern English, so it should never be conjugated or followed by an object. Instead, use the preposition "despite" to mean "in spite of," placing it before a noun or gerund to show contrast.
In spite of, notwithstanding, regardless of.
"Despite the heavy rain, we decided to go for a walk in the park."
The word "despite" comes from the Old French despit, which originally meant "looking down on" or "contempt." It entered English as a noun before evolving into the preposition we use today to indicate that something happens regardless of an obstacle.