In spite of 和 despite 為同義介系詞，意為「儘管；雖然」，是在表示兩個事物之間的對比。它們通常用在寫作，比較少用於口說，而 despite 比 in spite of 略微正式一些，但常用許多。必須注意的是，in spite of 是三個字且一定要有 of，而 despite 後面不可有 of。例如：
- We went swimming in spite of rain. (儘管下雨，我們還是去游泳了) (正)
We went swimming in spite rain. (誤)
We went swimming inspite of rain. (誤) - Despite all his efforts Robert failed. (雖然羅伯特盡了一切努力，還是失敗了) (正)
Despite of all his efforts Robert failed. (誤)