as in acrimonious
having or showing deep-seated resentment
a rancorous autobiography in which the author heaps blame on just about everyone who had the misfortune of knowing him
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rancorous
After closing the doors of its consulate general in St. Petersburg in 2018, amid rancorous relations with the Kremlin, and without any new openings in recent years, Washington reduced its total posts to 273.
—
Bonnie Bley, Foreign Affairs, 27 Nov. 2019
State of play: O'Connell enjoys wide public approval that elected officials at any level rarely find in this rancorous political environment.
—Nate Rau, Axios, 7 Apr. 2025
For nearly two decades, Twitter had been considered the internet’s town square, chaotic and often rancorous but informative and diversely discursive.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
The council vote has long been seen as a formality, with aldermen overwhelmingly approving recent mayors’ picks for open council seats, though Johnson has had a particularly rancorous relationship with the body.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rancorous
Bonnie Bley, Foreign Affairs, 27 Nov. 2019
State of play: O'Connell enjoys wide public approval that elected officials at any level rarely find in this rancorous political environment.
—Nate Rau, Axios, 7 Apr. 2025
For nearly two decades, Twitter had been considered the internet’s town square, chaotic and often rancorous but informative and diversely discursive.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
The council vote has long been seen as a formality, with aldermen overwhelmingly approving recent mayors’ picks for open council seats, though Johnson has had a particularly rancorous relationship with the body.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rancorous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rancorous
Adjective
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Starting with fawning platitudes, the relationship between the world's richest man and the world's most powerful man has come to an acrimonious end.—
Dan Perry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 June 2025
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This could seek to avoid a repeat of the acrimonious conclusion to the previous summit in Canada back in 2018 when Trump, during his first term in office, retracted the U.S.′ support for the joint statement.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
16 June 2025
Adjective
-
Without Flagg, asking angry fans for more money may have sent Welts back into another round of retirement.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 June 2025
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Republican lawmakers were also angry when the Southern Association warned that a 2021 presidential search at Florida State University may violate accrediting standards.—
Scott Travis,
Sun Sentinel,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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The spa menu boasts a long list of bodywork treatments options, including the fire & ice massage, which soothes sore muscles with a combination of hot stones and cooling recovery balm, facials and body scrubs using ingredients from the forest, and a fireside massage package for two.—
Elizabeth Brownfield,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
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Pairing cannabis with outdoor adventures not only amplifies your connection to the natural world but can also help with sore muscles, fatigue, and improving sleep in new environments.—
Matt Rozo,
Mercury News,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
Pashinyan was the focus of protests last year by tens of thousands of demonstrators after Armenia agreed to hand over control of several border villages to Azerbaijan and to normalize relations between the neighbors and bitter rivals.—
Avet Demourian,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2025
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But the two mainstays of the game are far from bitter rivals.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Mamdani proposes to pay for these splendid gifts to the city’s voters by raising taxes even further on the city’s top income earners, in the cynical belief that those who make up his tax base are stuck there, cannot flee, and are thus cows to be helplessly milked.—
The Editors,
National Review,
25 June 2025
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Too often, leaders are stuck between moral maximalism and cynical cost-cutting.—
HEC Paris Insights,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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The grief of this loss has left him unengaged with his new life, resentful of Olga for her busy military career surveilling orbital debris, and uninterested in making friends.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
17 June 2025
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This is because, little under a year after being handed a landslide majority by the U.K. electorate, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is deeply unpopular and thrashing around for ways to appease a surly and resentful public.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
11 June 2025
Adjective
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As a sanitation worker in New York City for almost two decades, Mr. Martin is well accustomed to tossing bags of acrid, leaky garbage from the curb into the back of a truck.—
Emma G. Fitzsimmons,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
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Sauza Signature Blue Blanco: An unexpected combination of sweet and acrid in Sauza’s blanco struck some of our tasters as strange, and other contenders struck a better balance.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
13 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rancorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rancorous. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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