どちらも、「～にもかかわらず」と言う意味になります。前置詞（句）ですので、名詞（句）が続きます。
- Ironically, despite their best endeavors, their mission resulted in complete failure.
皮肉なことだが、彼らの最善の努力にもかかわらず、任務は完全な失敗に終わった。 - In spite of our compliments, he frowned and turned away. He was so rude!
僕たちがほめ言葉をかけたのに、彼は顔をしかめてそっぽを向いた。失礼だ！
チャット爺に訊いてみました。
“Despite” and “in spite of” are both used to express the concept of something happening or being true even though there is a potential obstacle or something that might prevent it. They are essentially interchangeable in most contexts. Here are the main points about each:
- Despite:
- “Despite” is a preposition.
- It is more commonly used and can be considered slightly more formal.
- It is typically followed directly by a noun or a gerund (-ing form of a verb used as a noun). For example, “Despite the rain, we went for a walk.”
- In spite of:
- “In spite of” is a phrase consisting of a preposition (“in”), an article (“of”), and a noun (“spite”).
- It is also followed by a noun or a gerund. For example, “In spite of the difficulties, they completed the project on time.”
- It is slightly longer and might be considered less formal than “despite,” but the difference is very subtle.
In practical use, you can choose either “despite” or “in spite of” based on how the sentence flows or simply personal preference, as they mean the same thing and are generally interchangeable without changing the meaning of the sentence.
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