Rancorous

The adjective rancorous, pronounced 'RANK-er-us', IPA: /ˈrænk ər əs/, meaning 'full of deepseated resentment', 'spiteful', 'feeling or showing rancour' [see below], is spelled this way - with a single '-o-' in the second syllable and '-ou-' in the third.

In British English, the noun rancour from which 'rancorous' comes is spelled with '-ou-' in the second syllable. In American English, it is usually spelled rancor. This is further illustrated in AWE's article on the spelling pattern -or - -our - -orous

• • For a note on a comparatively rare homophone, see Rancour - ranker.