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
Mourinho, the 63-year-old finally living the dream of managing his boyhood club after a rancorous nine-game stint at the start of his coaching career, celebrating with a starry-eyed kid dreaming of being on the pitch for the first team one day.
—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2026
Transportation and accelerated bridge construction Transportation featured prominently, with Healey again praising MBTA General Manager Phil Eng to the most rancorous applause of the night.
—
Sam Drysdale,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
The committee’s Democratic members savaged Rubio for diminishing America’s global role; the meeting grew so rancorous that Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho who was Rubio’s closest friend in the Senate, had to repeatedly bang his gavel to bring order.
—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Kennedy’s retirement from active service on the court was followed by a rancorous and highly political process of confirmation for Kavanaugh, who was successfully nominated by Trump in 2018.
—
Sacbee.com,
3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rancorous
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2026
Transportation and accelerated bridge construction Transportation featured prominently, with Healey again praising MBTA General Manager Phil Eng to the most rancorous applause of the night.
—
Sam Drysdale,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
The committee’s Democratic members savaged Rubio for diminishing America’s global role; the meeting grew so rancorous that Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho who was Rubio’s closest friend in the Senate, had to repeatedly bang his gavel to bring order.
—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Kennedy’s retirement from active service on the court was followed by a rancorous and highly political process of confirmation for Kavanaugh, who was successfully nominated by Trump in 2018.
—
Sacbee.com,
3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rancorous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rancorous
Adjective
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The term limits had been introduced following an acrimonious end to the 16-year presidency of Max Mosley in 2009 after a conflict with F1 teams.
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The acrimonious strike has independent experts questioning the health of a decades-old partnership between Kaiser management and its workers, with impacts that could spill beyond individual contract negotiations.
Adjective
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Last week, Dipke traveled to several Indian cities, joining thousands of angry demonstrators to demand the education minister’s removal.
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Played by House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock, Kara’s path crosses that of an angry, sword-wielding teenager, Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), who seeks revenge for her slain family.
Adjective
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Near the middle of the group stands a pint-size teenage Vicky, pale and bleach-blond, sticking out like a sore thumb.
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Behind her stood an image of a rendering of a permanent memorial honoring the 98 collapse victims that has yet to materialize, a sore subject that was mentioned several times during the event, along with condolences, family memories and words of encouragement.
Adjective
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Looking for a silver lining Some analysts fear that the friction over the 250th celebrations, especially the national ones, may end up reinforcing the nation's bitter divide rather than providing a respite from it.
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This inverts the usual analysis of American politics, that our bitter culture wars will always resolve down to questions like affordability.
Adjective
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Traditionally cynical and perceptive commentators—not to mention a lot of tired citizens—found themselves, in some accounts, overcome by an unexpected wave of patriotic sentimentality that washed away, at least for a moment, their gnawing doubts.
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Heston is at his most gleefully cynical as Robert Thorn, a police detective who lives and works in a New York City decimated by environmental deterioration and dwindling resources.
Adjective
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But there have been many groups in music history where the woman becomes the face of the group and the guys get resentful.
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Meanwhile, Tom’s rebellious teenaged son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick), has fallen in with a delinquent crowd out of sheer boredom, resentful that he’s never been allowed to leave the island.
Adjective
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So that journey from being an embittered, grumpy, individual turns into something incredibly progressive, beautiful and quite life-affirming.
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Chiwetel Ejiofor plays an embittered furniture store owner who discovers a passage into the mundane alt-space, eventually drawing two young employees and his therapist, played by fellow Oscar nominee Renate Reinsve, into also braving its potential dangers.
Adjective
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Smoke from a Boyle Heights warehouse fire shrouds Dodger Stadium in acrid haze before the Dodgers’ 12-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
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Creepy compliments his acrid smell with an air of invincibility.
Cite this Entry
“Rancorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rancorous. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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