How to Use rancorous in a Sentence

rancorous

adjective
  • Roberta wakes up with her toxic past and her rancorous temper.
    — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2023
  • The comments were good-natured but the campaign has been rancorous.
    — Joe Parkinson, WSJ, 23 Feb. 2019
  • And on that rancorous note was established the prevailing tone of the next four years.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Feb. 2021
  • Hence, the political conflict spawned by it wasn’t rancorous most of the time.
    — Ezra Klein, Vox, 18 Dec. 2018
  • It was published on the eve of baseball’s most rancorous labor stoppage.
    — Allie Morris, Dallas News, 14 June 2020
  • Some prospects said they were turned off by the state’s rancorous political climate.
    — James Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Nov. 2019
  • And with a rancorous and vocal public ready to protest again, the bill’s passage into law would not be smooth.
    — Patrick Smith, NBC News, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Illinois has a very different and far more rancorous system.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
  • The rancorous debate over how to teach the nation’s past is not limited to Texas.
    — Washington Post, 2 June 2021
  • But why has the fascist debate become so powerful and so rancorous?
    — The Politics Of Everything, The New Republic, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Britain’s usually rancorous politics, put on pause by the monarch’s death, are due to resume this week.
    — Jill Lawless, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Sep. 2022
  • The rancorous debate over blame threatens to further divide the nation.
    — Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2021
  • The pact marked the end of a rancorous, nearly two-year fight that led to costly court fights and heightened tensions inside the union.
    — Anousha Sakoui, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2021
  • The hearings may also be too confusing and rancorous for the public to follow.
    — The Economist, 26 Sep. 2019
  • Many team officials have voiced worry that the next labor stoppage could take longer and become more rancorous.
    — Andy McCullough, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The rancorous debate over whether returning students should wear masks in the classroom has moved from school boards to courtrooms.
    — The Salt Lake Tribune, 29 Aug. 2021
  • The rancorous debate over whether returning students should wear masks in classrooms has moved from school boards to courtrooms.
    — Compiled Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 29 Aug. 2021
  • Trump, meanwhile, refused to let go of his rancorous clash with European allies over trade.
    — Mark Landler, BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2018
  • The rancorous debate over the future of fossil fuels is playing out in a country built with a fortune made from oil.
    — Vivian Nereim, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2023
  • Logan and Kendall have this icy, rancorous series of confrontations during the episode.
    — Clark Collis, EW.com, 8 Nov. 2021
  • The rest left Goodison Park bilious, rancorous and, more than once, on the verge of outright mutiny.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2023
  • Since the merger was blocked, the two grocery rivals have been locked in a rancorous and active legal fight over each other’s role in the scheme.
    — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026
  • Whether such logic, and such a tranquil plea for moral decency, will lay the rumors to rest, and shame the rancorous, is open to question.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2024
  • For years, Grace was in Cubbie exile after a rancorous exit as a player.
    — Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 17 Aug. 2020
  • But fallout from the rancorous meeting soon followed, with much of it landing squarely on Moretta, the host.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2023
  • The product changes could aid Dorsey’s goal to rid the platform of rancorous and toxic conversation.
    — Fortune, 13 June 2018
  • The product changes could aid Dorsey's goal to rid the platform of rancorous and toxic conversation.
    — Selina Wang, chicagotribune.com, 13 June 2018
  • Whether commercial insurers will cover the rest of the multi-billion price tag is bound to be a rancorous issue.
    — Bob Woods, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2025
  • The win comes after a rancorous final stretch of the race that saw high profile endorsements, attacks on the airwaves and in person.
    — Natalie Allison, USA TODAY, 7 Aug. 2020
  • More than 5 million people worldwide have died, and as rancorous as the debate has been, the aftermath promises to be as messy.
    — Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rancorous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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