Meaning & use
resentful
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Feeling angry and hurt for a long time because you think you have been treated unfairly.
Grammar: Followed by of or about for the cause: resentful of his success; resentful about the decision.
Patterns
- resentful of someone
- resentful about something
- resentful that something happened
She felt resentful of her brother, who always got the larger room.
He grew resentful about the extra hours nobody noticed.
The staff were resentful that the manager took all the credit.
Word forms
| comparative | more resentful |
|---|---|
| superlative | most resentful |
Common combinations
- feel resentful
- She felt resentful after being passed over.
- grow resentful
- He grew resentful of the constant criticism.
- resentful of
- They were resentful of the new rules.
- resentful tone
- His resentful tone made the argument worse.
- deeply resentful
- She was deeply resentful of the way she was treated.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bitter
- Suggests deep, lasting pain that has soured a person, often after a loss.
- aggrieved
- Stresses a sense of having been wronged, with less lingering anger.
- envious
- Focuses on wanting what another has, not on feeling treated unfairly.
Opposites
Word family
- resent verb
- to feel bitter about something
- resentment noun
- lasting anger about unfair treatment
- resentfully adverb
- in a resentful way
Commonly confused: resentful or resistant?
resentful vs resistant
Resistant means opposing or not affected by something; resentful means bitter.
Practice
Tom felt ___ of his coworker, who had been promoted without doing more work.
Choose one answer.
Resentful fits someone angry at a perceived unfairness. Grateful and proud do not fit that situation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “resentful”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.