rancorous
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rancorous
Explanation
The adjective rancorous comes in handy when you're describing someone's bitter grudge, like the attitude of your cousin who still won't speak to you after the April Fool's Day prank you played four years ago. A story can be rancorous, if it's full of resentment, and so can an argument, if it's particularly bitter and angry. The word rancorous can be traced back to the Latin word rancere, which means "to stink." This in turn led to rancorem, "bitterness or rancidness." When you speak to your arch enemy and your words are so angry and bitter that they almost stink, go ahead and describe them as rancorous.
Vocabulary lists containing rancorous
100 Top "SAT" Words
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Artemis II astronauts returned from the moon Friday and rejoined us on a rancorous, feuding Earth.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
It can turn a rancorous conversation into a more soulful and forgiving one.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026
That setback added to rancorous divisions among member states over the deal's impact on European farmers, who remained deaf to the EU's arguments and staged months of tractor-mounted protests against the accord.
From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026
Roberta wakes up with her toxic past and her rancorous temper.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2023
Skepticism was forceful, even rancorous; arguments lasted for years, with critics charging that Dillehay’s evidence was too low- quality to accept.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
