Regardless of, even though; without being affected by: "The tourist had difficulty communicating when she went to Germany in spite of all the years she studied German."

"In spite of the high prices, there is still enough demand for oil to keep the costs of gas higher than some people can afford."

"Note that unlike 'despite' being spelled as one word, 'in spite' [of] should always be spelled as two separate words and not as 'inspite [of]'. Remember: inspite of, NO; in spite of, YES!"