The doctors couldn't save him despite all of their efforts. Spite/Despite does not mean to 'thumb your nose' or 'issue a warning'.To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader.

@Jim I came here looking to see if my interpretation of this (albeit subtle) difference was correct. From the sentence alone, I think ‘though’ is the better fit. You may notice that in all the above examples, "despite" has not been used with "of" but it can definitely be used in certain contexts such as this:And again here, it is absolutely interchangeable with "in spite of".To me, while they, in many cases, can be used interchangeably, the choice of wording can imply a subtle shift in meaning.However, the 'despite of' usage is not illegal, though it is fairly rare, and as they suggest in the EL&U answer, something that you only bring up when you get caught out doing it accidentally.I do agree that the two; 'despite' and 'in spite of', are "interchangeable'. We use despite / in spite of to express that something is unexpected or surprising. The best one will depend on what you want to communicate, which isn’t obvious without more context. Stack Exchange network consists of 177 Q&A communities including Use ‘in spite of’, despite’ or ‘although’ for these sentences: 1) ___ he was tired he drove a hundred kilometres to the next town. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top Listen to all | All sentences (with pause) Example sentences: " The kids were playing outside despite the rain. " that the second clause (about not finding a job) is unexpected due to the information introduced via ‘in spite of’ (Jane being a good student).But since this word is not a conjunction, it cannot be used in place of ‘but’.‘Whereas’ is a conjunction used to contrast two things:Unlike the other terms here, ‘whereas’ does not necessarily imply that something is surprising.For instance, there is no connection between the sizes of tables and rocking chairs, so there is no reason to assume that the chair would not fit just because the table was too large. Examples of proper usage:"Due to his extensive criminal record, we will not employ him "I will marry him in spite of the amount of times he cheated"'in spite of' is a preposition to be used in front of a negative instances After although we use a subject + verb: • Although it rained a lot, we enjoyed our holiday.

It is hard to suggest a definite correction without knowing the context, so you may want to send your document for proofreading (

Fact is, going downtown "in spite of" or "despite" one's parent's warning means exactly the same thing.

This is called concession. Where as, 'Despite' is usually more of a neutral contradiction within a circumstance.

We are simply making a comparison.Good luck! (And since "despite" is also rooted in "spite", there is no reason why it would not also borrow the same connotation, if it were true.) @WendiKidd- I think we'll have to just disagree here. The surprise in this case is because we expect good students to find work. — Kathy Ehrich Dowd et al. Spite could mean rebellion in real sense but could also connote courage or boldness depending on the usage@Jim: I go with WendiKidd and Kaz. • We didn't go out because it was raining. English Language Learners Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled is short for in despite of (late 13c.)" You use "Despite the reason" Despite the pain in his leg he completed the marathon. To express rebellion we would have to say something like "@Kaz- I will admit that it's a subtle distinction. It seems to me "in spite of" is a slightly more elaborate form, to be used in more fancy, most formal writing.