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
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
But Sox fans weren’t worried, thanks to a recent report that Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf might sell the team to a billionaire who would then rescue the franchise from his rancorous reign.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2025
The rancorous, reptilian, essentially unknowable right—rising from the wastes like Trump, Putin, or Sauron—receives the Promethean gift of historical agency.
—Matthew Karp, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for rancorous
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
But Sox fans weren’t worried, thanks to a recent report that Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf might sell the team to a billionaire who would then rescue the franchise from his rancorous reign.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2025
The rancorous, reptilian, essentially unknowable right—rising from the wastes like Trump, Putin, or Sauron—receives the Promethean gift of historical agency.
—Matthew Karp, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for rancorous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rancorous
Adjective
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There was the acrimonious split between Sir Ben Ainslie and Ratcliffe over the British team in the America’s Cup, while INEOS is in a legal dispute with New Zealand Rugby over the failure to pay the latest instalment of its £3.7m-a-year sponsorship deal.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
12 May 2025
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Despite a somewhat acrimonious parting with Judas Priest, Binks joined his former mates at the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and played three songs with the band.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Late in the second half, with Arminia three goals down, the travelling fans were so angry that Fabian Klos, the club legend from whom Corboz inherited the captaincy, had to persuade them not to invade the pitch.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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Parents and students said a substitute teacher chased, choked and hit a student after becoming angry in a fourth grade classroom at Meadowview.—
Samantha Moilanen,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
The $10,000 cap was a sore spot for many taxpayers in high tax states.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2025
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The sore spot was red, swollen, and painful—and the boy and his mother had no idea what had caused it.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Where Silverman radically departs from Strindberg’s bitter play is in their portrait of Tekla, who is a spikily delightful self-starter instead of the idiot-monster of the original.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
22 May 2025
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Still, Levi isn’t bitter and blames the reporter for trying to use Gunn to publicly shame him.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Is this a cynical attempt to rescue their party from a political free fall?—
John Opdycke,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 May 2025
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And so Lee’s reinterpretation strains to leave us on a high instead of a low, as befits the finale of an update so compellingly eager to flip the script on one of Kurosawa’s most cynical films.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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After dodging several audience questions about an Office reboot during his opening monologue-turned-Q&A, Carell started getting peppered with resentful recriminations from his own former costars.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
29 May 2025
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The complexities of her character mirrored in her stony, resentful stare, in her grim, unforgiving mouth, will always baffle and enthrall.—
E.R. Zarevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
7 May 2025
Adjective
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Bemused tourists attempt to shuffle through the acrid red and blue flare smoke.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
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That day, the air in midtown Manhattan was choked with acrid wildfire smoke from Canada, and the sky was a macabre shade of orange.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rancorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rancorous. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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