rankle

verb

ran·​kle ˈraŋ-kəl 

rankled; rankling ˈraŋ-k(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to cause anger, irritation, or deep bitterness

2

: to feel anger and irritation

transitive verb

: to cause irritation or bitterness in

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The Connection Between Rankle and Dragon

When rankle was first used in English, it meant "to fester," and that meaning is related to French words referring to a sore and tracing to Latin dracunculus. The Latin is from draco, the word for a serpent and the source of English's dragon. The transition from serpents to sores is apparently from people associating the appearance of certain ulcers or tumors to small serpents.

Synonyms

• steam
• rage
• burn
• boil
• storm
• seethe
• shake
• foam
• fume

Examples of rankle in a Sentence

The joke about her family rankled her.

that kind of rude treatment from a young person makes me rankle

Recent Examples on the Web

Regarding the difficulty of doing business, In-N-Out has rankled with its home state over legal issues in the past—namely, when the business refused to comply with officials and request customers must show proof of vaccination to make purchases. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 21 July 2025

Nevertheless, financial issues with your kids or a romantic partner might rankle you. —Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 21 July 2025

But what really rankles is the idea that these digital interlocutors are a plausible substitute for real friends or family. —Paul Bloom, New Yorker, 14 July 2025

And like Ackles’ best characters, Meachum’s rough around the edges – which rankles his teammates, especially DEA agent Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho) – though there's a good reason behind his reckless nature. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 26 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ranclen to fester, from Anglo-French rancler, from Old French draoncler, raoncler, from draoncle, raoncle festering sore, from Medieval Latin dracunculus, from Latin, diminutive of draco serpent — more at dragon

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for rankle

• ankle

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Kids Definition

rankle

verb

ran·​kle ˈraŋ-kəl 

rankled; rankling -k(ə-)liŋ 

: to cause anger, irritation, or deep bitterness

Etymology

Middle English ranclen "to fester," from early French rancler (same meaning), derived from earlier draoncle, raoncle "a festering sore," from Latin dracunculus "little serpent, little dragon," from earlier draco "serpent, dragon," from Greek drākon "serpent, dragon" — related to dragon

Word Origin

The Greek word drakōn, meaning "serpent, dragon," was borrowed into Latin as draco. Later, the noun dracunculus, meaning "little serpent," was formed from draco. The French borrowed this noun as draoncle or raoncle but used it for "a festering sore or ulcer." It seems that the form of such a sore looked something like the form of a small serpent. From the noun the French formed the verb rancler, "to fester." In the 14th century, the verb was taken into English as rankle, with the same meaning. Our word dragon also comes from the Greek drakōn by way of the Latin draco.