rancor
Americannoun
Related Words
See malevolence.
Other Word Forms
- rancored adjective
- unrancored adjective
Etymology
Origin of rancor
1175–1225; Middle English rancour, from Middle French, from Late Latin rancōr- (stem of rancor ) “rancidity,” equivalent to Latin ranc(ēre) ( rancid ) + -ōr- -or 1
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.
Mr. Stiles writes in admiring notes that acknowledge without rancor the great man’s flaws.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026
You have two choices after that: Mention it in a review — factually and without rancor — or contact the Airbnb Resolution Center.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026
Some supporters of Ken Paxton think that rancor is more important.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Now he views the world and the people around him with “much more compassion and understanding. I have no more time for rancor and bitterness — they’re like a cancer.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2025
In the spring he had longed to plant begonias and zinnias in a narrow bed around his tent but had been deterred by his fear of Corporal Whitcomb’s rancor.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
