resentment
ri-ZENT-muhnt
/rɪˈzɛnt.mənt/
Bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly; persistent ill will.
Focuses on long-held, lingering anger that broods over past injustices rather than sudden emotional outbursts.
The story behind the word. Formed from Latin 're-' (again) and 'sentire' (to feel), resentment literally means 'feeling again'. It captures the exact nature of lingering anger: re-feeling an old pain or grievance over and over.
Word relationships
- rancor: Rancor implies deep-seated, malicious ill will; resentment focuses on lingering bitterness from unfair treatment.
- goodwill: Goodwill expresses friendly, helpful, or benevolent feelings toward others.
Commonly confused with
- resemblance: Resemblance means likeness or similarity; resentment means lingering anger at unfairness.
Word family
- resent (verb): To feel bitterness or indignation at something.
- resentful (adjective): Feeling or showing resentment.
- resentfully (adverb): In a resentful manner.
Collocations
- harbor resentment
- deep resentment
- bitter resentment
- breed resentment
Idioms & expressions
- chip on one's shoulder
- nurse a grudge
Example sentences
- "Unclear promotion policies created deep resentment among senior staff members." Organizational psychology
- "Over years of silent sacrifice, her quiet compliance slowly turned into bitter resentment." Interpersonal relationships
Memory hook
RESENTMENT is RE-SENT-ment: feeling the exact same pain RE-SENT to your mind. Re-feeling past injuries endlessly.
When not to use
Do not use for sudden, short-lived flashes of temper.
Fun facts
- The root 'sentire' also gives us 'sentiment', 'sensation', and 'sensitive'.
Explore more words
Also appears in
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.