Resentment
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Anger or displeasure stemming from belief that one or one's group has been wronged or betrayed by others; indignation. countable, uncountable
"Amongst the most violent against him was Mrs. Bennet, whose dislike of his general behaviour, was sharpened into particular resentment, by his having slighted one of her daughters."
- 2 a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will wordnet
- 3 The state of holding something in the mind as a subject of contemplation, or of being inclined to reflect upon it; feeling; impression. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"It is a greater wonder that so many of them die, with so little resentment of their danger."
- 4 Satisfaction; gratitude. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"The Council taking notice of the many good services performed by Mr. John Milton […] have thought fit to declare their resentment and good acceptance of the same."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"He felt a resentment against his uncle for taking him in."
Etymology
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.
Related phrases
More for "resentment"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.