ran ‧ cour BrE AmE British English , rancor American English /ˈræŋkə $ -ər/ noun [uncountable]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Late Latin , from Latin rancere ; ⇨ ↑ rancid ]
formal a feeling of hatred and anger towards someone you cannot forgive because they harmed you in the past ⇨ resentment
without rancour
He spoke openly about the war without a trace of rancour.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ anger a strong emotion that you feel because someone has behaved badly or because a situation seems bad or unfair:
Andrea still feels a lot of anger towards her mom, who left when she was a little girl.
|
I’ve said some things in anger that have almost cost me my marriage.
▪ annoyance slight anger or impatience:
He expressed annoyance at the way his comments had been misinterpreted.
|
The meetings were held in secret, much to the annoyance of some members of Congress.
▪ irritation a feeling of being annoyed and impatient, especially because something keeps happening or someone keeps saying something:
He could not hide his irritation at her persistent questioning.
|
Unwanted sales calls are a source of irritation for many people.
▪ frustration a feeling of being annoyed, especially because you cannot do what you want or because you cannot change or control a situation:
You can imagine my frustration when I found out that the next bus didn’t leave till 4 hours later.
|
There is a growing sense of frustration over the situation in Burma.
|
The government has expressed frustration at the slow legal process.
▪ exasperation a feeling of being very annoyed because you cannot control a situation, learn to do something, or understand something, even though you are trying very hard:
Isaac sighed in exasperation.
|
Exasperation at the team’s lack of success was evident among the fans.
▪ resentment anger because you think you are being treated badly or unfairly:
The sudden increase in the numbers of immigrants has caused resentment among local people.
▪ indignation anger and surprise about an unfair situation:
His voice sounded full of indignation.
|
The scandal caused righteous indignation among opposition politicians.
▪ ill/bad feeling anger between two people because of something that has happened:
I had no ill feeling towards him.
▪ rancour British English , rancor American English formal a feeling of anger and hatred towards someone who you cannot forgive because they harmed you in the past:
Even though he had lost the court case, he had shown no rancour.
▪ spleen formal anger, especially anger that is unreasonable:
He vented his spleen (=said why he was angry) against the airline in an article in the Times.