🇬🇧🇪🇸 rancour - rencor : English Lesson

Meaning of "rancour" ("rencor"), detailed definition, and a short video lesson below.

Rancour is when you stay really mad at someone for a long time because of something they did in the past. It’s more than just being upset for a few minutes—it’s like keeping a grudge in your heart and not letting it go, even after a long time. When you feel rancour, you keep remembering what happened and still feel angry or hurt about it, instead of forgiving or moving on.

Watch and listen to this English flashcard to understand the word in more detail, with an easy example sentence.

Grandma still feels rancour toward the rooster that chased her when she was five, so she glares at every chicken nugget.

My stomach felt rancour toward my brain for saying, “We’re on a diet,” right in front of a chocolate cake.

Even the dust bunnies under my bed seem to hold rancour because I keep promising to clean and never do.

The dinosaurs on my pajamas probably still feel rancour about that whole asteroid situation.

Historians say some people kept rancour for years over tiny arguments, which is funny because they probably couldn’t even remember if they were originally fighting about socks, snacks, or who stole the last pickle.

She carried rancour like a cold stone in her coat. Each morning rancour woke her. In class the old letter smelled of chalk and rancour. He passed back her paper with an apology; rancour trembled, then slackened. Outside, she set the stone on the wall and watched rancour fall away.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

Expanding your English vocabulary is one of the best ways to improve your pronunciation, spelling, and confidence in English. Watch the video above to memorize the word, understand its meaning, and see example sentences in action. Discover related words to grow your vocabulary naturally. Add words to your playlist for stress-free, effective learning—anytime, anywhere! Watch, learn, repeat.