in spite of

in spite of (oneself)

1. Despite one's own foibles, mistakes, or flaws. Somehow the Eagles managed to pull off a victory in spite of themselves. I knocked over my drink and called her the wrong name at one point, but all in all, I think the date went well in spite of myself.
2. Despite or against one's desire or intention. I was scared senseless when I realized there was a burglar in the house, but I laughed in spite of myself when he slipped on a banana peel on the kitchen floor.
See also: of, spite

in spite of (something)

Regardless or in defiance of; despite. In spite of all the warnings, the hikers decided to climb the restricted route, and ended up having to be rescued. We have succeeded, in spite of all the setbacks.
See also: of, spite
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

in spite of someone or something

without regard to someone or something; even though another course had been prescribed; ignoring a warning. In spite of her orders to stay, I left. In spite of the bad weather, I had fun on vacation.
See also: of, spite
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

in spite of

Regardless of, in defiance of, as in They kept on in spite of their fears. [c. 1400]
See also: of, spite
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

in spite of

Not stopped by; regardless of: They kept going in spite of their fears.
See also: of, spite
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • in spite of (oneself)
  • in spite of yourself
  • be flesh and blood
  • multitude
  • multitude of sins
  • a multitude of sins
  • against (one's) better judgment
  • against one's better judgment
  • against your better judgement
  • love goggles
References in periodicals archive
for Social Change, was the visibility of people of color marching in spite of the overwhelming police presence.
My experience has informed me that, unfortunately, politics and the elected officials' expertise at keeping payroll expenses in check, in spite of need, is the driving factor in the mind of some of those elected lawyers charged with prosecution and defense and who hold public office, certainly not whether the interests of the citizens of this state are served by lawyers dedicated to the public charge they serve and who should be fairly compensated for the work they do.
In spite of his temperament Newton was revered in his time.
Thus, the average daily production of oil dropped from 46.5 thousand barrels to 37.5 thousand barrels, in spite of a significant increase in the production of mines by 39.6% as well as a 7.8% rise in the production of electricity.
He said in a press statement today 5, Feb: "After more than 40 days of the mass demonstrations and sit-ins we have not seen any significant change on the ground in spite of all the media statements.
Summary: BEIRUT: Lebanon's workers union will press on with plans to stage nationwide strikes and sit-ins before the end of this month in spite of the government's collapse, chief of the General Labor Confederation (G.L.C.) Ghassan Ghosn told The Daily Star Thursday.
A July 2002 report by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that in spite of this eight-year effort, which cost the feds more than $2.5 billion annually, border enforcers in the southwest failed to reduce unauthorized immigration.
In spite of the heavy pressure to authorize a 9mm load for the high-capacity autos, none of the standard-pressure loads had either a Power Factor of 160 or 400 ft-lbs of energy.
In spite of its obvious failure, the report concludes, Washington pours more money into this program each year.
Both sectors grew by 3.8% and 4.3% respectively, in spite of a 2% decline in industrial activity as a result of a 14% drop in oil and gas extraction.
To date, Ashcroft appears devoted to NSEERS in spite of public criticism.
(TAP) - The trade deficit widened at the end of May 2017 to 6,475.1 million dinars (MD), compared to 5,135.4 MD during the first five months of the year, In spite of the increase in exports, particularly crude oil.
In spite of this, Sonepaseut struggles to maintain his self-worth: "I feel like I'm a good book with a bad cover, and they're just judging me by my cover."
This improvement is due to the increase in the added value of manufacturing industries following the pick-up in the activity of chemical industy (28.9%) and mechanical and electronic industries (2.7%) and in spite of the downturn in the agri-food industry (- 0.6%) and the building materials, ceramics and glass industry (- 0.4%), Saidi added.