本文投稿作者 七姑娘

作为介词的”in spite of”和”despite”意义大体相同，通常无论使用其中哪一个都不会改变文章宗旨。

但两者间也有一些微妙的差异，使用时应注意区分。

“in spite of”和“despite”两者的主要意思大体等同于日语中的“虽然……但是……”。

与”despite”代表了“与……无关”这一略显消极的语意相对，”in spite of”的语气更为强烈，包含了“与……相反”这般更积极的语意。其间差异请参考下面的例句。

(1) Despite the risk, I would like to proceed with the plan.
(2) In spite of his parents’ warning, the child continued to play with the toy.

另外，关于”despite”的用法还需要注意的是，偶尔会出现将”despite”与”in spite of”混淆写成”despite of”的情况，这是一个语法错误。

*“despite”还可作为名词使用，但并不常见。

化学论文中”in spite of”和”despite”的使用例

in spite of 

1. Gratifyingly, anisidine 2e was successfully employed for the three-component coupling reaction in spite of its limited nucleophilicity. DOI; 10.1002/anie.201206082
2. In both cases, high levels of selectivity are observed for CF₃ and CF₂H radical addition, in spite of the multiple potentially reactive sites. DOI: 10.1021/ja211422g
3. In spite of x-ray studies that have focused attention on the seven-Fe cluster in Fe/Mo nitrogenase as the site of N₂ reduction, we believe that reduction of N₂ in Fe/Mo nitrogenase at the single Mo center, favored before the structure of Fe/Mo nitrogenase was eluci- dated through x-ray studies, again must be considered a strong possibility. DOI: 10.1126/science.1085326
4. Until very recently, to the best of our knowledge, only the chiral complex 35 was reported in literature for the intermolecular amination of C–H bonds in spite of the potential application of chiral amines as pharmaceuticals. DOI: 10.1039/c4cc03016h 

despite

1. It is noteworthy that Mn^III sources also gave the desired products but in lower yields, despite the oxidative conditions of the reaction. DOI: 10.1002/ejoc.201601390
2. Despite recent advances in C–C bond-forming reactions, the direct coupling of two different heteroaromatic motifs still constitutes a remarkable synthetic challenge. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201208843
3. Furthermore, despite the development of many methods in heterocyclic chemistry and cross-coupling reactions for the synthesis of β-arylpyrroles, the current state- of-the-art method involves catalytic C−H borylation of pyrroles, followed by Pd-catalyzed Suzuki−Miyaura cross- coupling. DOI: 10.1021/ja508449y
4. Despite their impressive invitro profile, their poor pharmacokinetic properties, especially low aqueous solubility, have limited their use as therapeutic agents, which to date has been restricted to topical use and only for the treatment of animal infections. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201307288

本文出自 Enago学术英语academy（日文版）