- Today's Word
Rancor
Rancor
RANG-ker
Definition
(noun) Deep, persistent bitterness or resentment.
Example
Years after their falling-out, a quiet rancor still lingered between them.
Word Origin
From Latin rancere, meaning “to stink” or “be rotten,” echoing the idea of bitterness that festers over time.
Fun Fact
Unlike anger, which burns hot and fast, rancor is slow, cold, and enduring. Authors often use it to describe feuds that span generations—think of the Hatfields and McCoys—or tensions that simmer beneath polite conversation. In psychology, rancor is linked to rumination: resentment that grows stronger the more it is revisited, like a wound that never fully closes.
