resentment
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a feeling of anger or bitterness because you think you have been treated unfairly or ignored.
a sense of deep and enduring injury or insult that results in feelings of ill will or bitterness. Uncountable in its general sense, though specific instances can be countable.
Simple“He felt a lot of resentment towards his boss for giving the promotion to someone else.”
In context“The long-standing resentment between the two families finally boiled over into a public legal dispute that lasted for years.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'towards' or 'against' a person, or 'at' a situation.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C2 Proficiency
an old-fashioned word for feeling thankful or satisfied.
the state of feeling satisfaction or gratitude. This sense is entirely obsolete in modern English and is only encountered in historical texts.
Simple“In the old letter, he expressed his resentment for the kind gift he had received.”
In context“The author used the term resentment to signify his deep appreciation for the patronage he had enjoyed throughout his career.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is the opposite of the modern meaning; learners should only be aware of it when reading 17th-century literature.
Synonyms
“He says he has a "great relationship with his brother" but feels resentment towards his parents for creating the "imbalance" between them.”
From resent + -ment, after Middle French and French ressentiment (in Old French as recentement), from an archaic usage of the verb ressentir via Old French sentir, from Latin sentiō, sentīre (“to feel”). Compare Italian risentimento, Portuguese ressentimento, and Spanish resentimiento. Doublet of resentiment and ressentiment, the former attested slightly earlier.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.