rancor

[rang-ker]

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noun

bitter, rankling resentment or ill will; hatred; malice.

Also especially British, ran·cour.

Origin of rancor

1175–1225; Middle English rancour < Middle French < Late Latin rancōr- (stem of rancor) rancidity, equivalent to Latin ranc(ēre) (see rancid) + -ōr- -or¹

Related formsran·cored; especially British, ran·coured, adjectiveun·ran·cored, adjective

Synonyms for rancor

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bitterness, spite, venom, animosity. See malevolence.

Antonyms for rancor

benevolence.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for rancor

harshness, grudge, antagonism, acrimony, hostility, malice, resentment, enmity, venom, animus, animosity, hatred, mordacity, vengefulness, umbrage, pique, dudgeon, hate, spite, malevolence

Examples from the Web for rancor

Contemporary Examples of rancor

Even those Christians who do want to minister amid the rancor of race and policing are missing the mark.
No Gods, No Cops, No Masters
James Poulos
January 1, 2015
The rancor between de Blasio and Moskowitz has at least some roots in substantive education policy disagreements.
Why Is Progressive Hero Bill de Blasio Throwing Charter Schools Out of New York City?
Conor P. Williams
March 4, 2014
The rancor between our two professions is heightened by an obvious bias toward nurses in the media.
Nurse Practitioners Playing Doctor More Often
Daniela Drake
May 27, 2013
And when Ted Jr. trains his rancor onto Daniel, the results are startling.
Sundance Channel’s ‘Rectify’ Is the Best New Show of 2013
Jace Lacob
April 17, 2013
Because if this is how I feel from all of the rancor, I can only imagine how disconnected the rest of my generation must feel.
Why I Hate the Politics of Hate
Meghan McCain
May 9, 2010

Historical Examples of rancor

It is not the sermon I mind, but all the dislike and jealousy and rancor it will cause.
My New Curate
P.A. Sheehan
But the mere name of Constance had acted as a spur to her rancor.
Marjorie Dean
Pauline Lester
It dulled the edge of rancor brutally, as a rock dulls a razor.
Ainslee's, Vol. 15, No. 5, June 1905
Various
There was no rancor or bitterness in the expression of these men.
The Surrender of Santiago
Frank Norris
Let us be friends as we once were, and have no more of this rancor.
Roundabout Papers
William Makepeace Thackeray

Word Origin and History for rancor

c.1200, from Old French rancor "bitterness, resentment; grief, affliction," from Late Latin rancorem (nominative rancor) "rancidness, a stinking smell" (Palladius); "grudge, bitterness" (Hieronymus and in Late Latin), from Latin rancere "to stink" (see rancid).