- without being affected by; in spite of任凭; 尽管：
he remains a great leader despite age and infirmity.
尽管年老体衰, 他仍不失为一位伟大的领导者。
mass noun archaic or poetic/literary
1
- outrage; injury:〈古或诗/文〉凌辱; 伤害：
the despite done by him to the holy relics.
他对这些圣物的亵渎。
2
- contempt; disdain轻蔑; 鄙视：
the theatre only earns my despite.
戏剧界只能引起我的鄙视。
短语
despite（或in despite of）
- archaic in spite of〈古〉不管, 尽管, 任凭。
despite oneself
- used to indicate that one did not intend or expect to do the thing mentioned不由自主地; 身不由己地：
despite herself Fran felt a ripple of appreciation for his beauty.
弗兰对他的英姿不由得感到一阵赞赏。
派生词
despiteful
adjective （archaic or poetic/literary 〈古或诗/文〉）词源
Middle English （originally used as a noun meaning contempt， scorn in the phrase in despite of）： from Old French despit, from Latin despectus 'looking down on'， past participle (used as a noun) of despicere （see DESPISE）.