What is the difference between 'in spite of' and 'despite of'?

[purple flowers]

 Hello Sir,

Please be kind enough to explain the difference between  in spite of and despite of? When is it appropriate to use  or not to use it in a sentence.

Although there are a number of explanations on the net. I just need some kind of confirmation.

Thank you.

[Joe Carillo]

I don’t think there’s any perceptible difference in the meaning and usage of “in spite of” and “despite.” They are both prepositions that mean “in defiance or contempt of” or “without being prevented by.” Consider the following two sentences:

“We went to the park in spite of the rain.”

“We went to the park despite the rain.”

These two sentences mean exactly the same thing, without any perceptible difference of nuance. “In spite of” and “despite” also have exactly the same language register, which means that that either can be used in any social context—whether the language is informal, formal, legal, scientific, or scholarly—without any difference in denotation.

The only notable difference between them is, of course, structural: “in spite of” always comes with the preposition “of,” while “despite” doesn’t need “of” to work. That’s all.

[purple flowers]

Thank you Sir for that clarification

At least I am more confident in using either of them in a sentence.

[Joe Carillo]

You're most welcome, purple flowers! Sorry for this belated acknowledgment. I got distracted by a spate of off-web activities. Now I have more time to update both my web and off-web correspondence.  

[silverlokk]

Hello Sir,

Please be kind enough to explain the difference between  in spite of and despite of? When is it appropriate to use  or not to use it in a sentence.

No such expression as "despite of" -- it's only "despite".