venom

Compared meaning: ill will, a wish to harm or hurt someone (noun).

比较义项：恶意、想要伤害或激怒他人的念头（名词）。

• spite

  Spite is petty, personal ill will usually driven by a grudge, especially in the set phrase 'out of spite'; it can sound almost childish.

  spite 指因怨恨而产生的、带有个人恩怨色彩的琐碎恶意，常用于固定说法“out of spite”，有时听起来甚至有点幼稚。

  She deleted the photos out of spite after their argument.

  吵架之后，她出于恶意删掉了那些照片。

• venom 本词

  Venom describes intense, bitter hostility, especially expressed through harsh words or tone; it is a strong, almost literary word borrowed from snake poison.

  venom 指强烈、尖刻的敌意，尤其体现在言辞或语气之中；这是一个较为文学化的强烈词汇，字面意思来自“蛇毒”。

  He spat out the insult with real venom in his voice.

  他咬牙切齿地说出那句侮辱的话，语气中满是恶毒。

• malice

  Malice is the general, more formal term for the intention to harm someone, often used in legal or serious contexts like 'malice aforethought'.

  malice 是表示“伤害他人的意图”的通用、较正式说法，常用于法律或严肃语境，如“malice aforethought”（预谋恶意）。

  The lawyer argued the comment was careless, not made with malice.

  律师辩称，那番话只是不慎失言，并非出于恶意。

Spite, venom, and malice all mean ill will, wanting to hurt someone. Spite is petty and personal, often from a grudge. Venom is intense, bitter hostility, in harsh words or tone. Malice is the general, formal word, used in law. Not compared: snake venom.

这三个词都表示“恶意”，但语气和语域不同：spite 强调因怨恨而产生的琐碎报复心理，venom 强调言语或语气中强烈尖刻的敌意，malice 则是较正式、常见于法律语境的“伤害意图”。此处不比较 spite 在“in spite of”（尽管，不顾）中的用法，也不比较 venom 作为“蛇毒”等动物毒液的字面意思。