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)
與其他所有介系詞 (片語) 一樣，in spite of 和 despite 後面通常接名詞 (片語)，但亦可接動名詞。例如：
- Rock managed to eat a substantial lunch in spite of having eaten a big breakfast. (儘管早餐吃了很多，洛克午餐還是大吃一頓)
- In spite of being very tired, I stayed awake. (儘管非常疲倦，我仍保持清醒)
- James doesn’t lead a life of luxury despite making a lot of money. (儘管賺了很多錢，詹姆斯的生活並不奢華)
- Despite being sick, Grace went to work. (儘管生病，葛蕾絲還是去工作)
In spite of 和 despite 亦可接 that 所引導的名詞子句當受詞。根據文法，介系詞後面不能直接接 that 子句當受詞，但我們可以在 that 子句的前面加上 the fact，使 the fact 作為介詞的受詞，這樣其後的 that 子句就成了 the fact 的同位語，百分之百合乎語法要求。The fact that 中的 the fact 雖具有舉足輕重的語法功能，但本身並無意義。
The fact 與 that 所引導的名詞子句為同位語。原本引導名詞子句的 that 是連接詞，在加上 the fact 當同位語後，that 變成關係代名詞。例如：
- In spite of the fact that I was very tired, I stayed awake. (儘管非常疲倦，我仍保持清醒)
- Despite the fact that she was sick, Grace went to work. (儘管生病，葛蕾絲還是去工作)
- We enjoyed ourselves very much, in spite of the fact that we had no money. (我們雖然沒有錢，但仍然過得很愉快)
- She still loves him, despite the fact that he left her. (儘管他離開了她，她仍然愛他)
In spite of 和 despite 皆可接 oneself 來表示「不由自主地，忍不住地」的意思。例如：
- Mary started to scream, almost in spite of herself. (瑪麗幾乎不由自主地尖叫起來)
- John laughed despite himself. (約翰忍不住笑了起來)
- She picked her nose in public, despite herself. (她忍不住當眾挖鼻孔)