1
as in to steam
to be excited or emotionally stirred up with anger
that kind of rude treatment from a young person makes me rankle
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to infuriate
to make angry
it rankles me when some schools can't even afford paper and pencils for the students
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rankle
But Trump’s discussions about legal status have rankled much of his MAGA (Make America Great Again) base.
—
Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Aug. 2025
The settlement, and the negotiations leading up to it, rankled several high-profile people at CBS.
—Steve Kopack, NBC news, 22 July 2025
Trump also has rankled NATO allies with aggressive suggestions about taking over Greenland and pursuing Canada to become the U.S.’s 51st state.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 4 June 2025
But Husain, a former top anchor for the BBC, clearly rankled Musk who clashed with her several times during the interview.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rankle
Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Aug. 2025
The settlement, and the negotiations leading up to it, rankled several high-profile people at CBS.
—Steve Kopack, NBC news, 22 July 2025
Trump also has rankled NATO allies with aggressive suggestions about taking over Greenland and pursuing Canada to become the U.S.’s 51st state.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 4 June 2025
But Husain, a former top anchor for the BBC, clearly rankled Musk who clashed with her several times during the interview.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rankle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankle
Verb
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They’re wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks, are flatter and more rectangular in shape, and are about three times the size of the kind traditionally steamed in corn husks (perfect for sharing).—
Rachel Bernhard,
jsonline.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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The Cortado, a new style of coffee drink Starbucks added earlier this year, is made with three ristretto shots of Blonde Espresso and steamed milk (ristretto espresso shots are smaller and more concentrated than traditional ones).—
Gabe Hauari,
USA Today,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Humorists can infuriate the checkers, who recognize that even funny nonfiction has to be completely real; it’s held to the same standard as anything else.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
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Some worked on matters that have long infuriated Trump, like the intelligence community assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election on his behalf.—
Eric Tucker,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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While the debate rages on, the funerals keep coming.—
For the Carroll County Times,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Aug. 2025
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Now seven months into his term and the conflict still raging on, Trump's expressed increasing frustration with Putin's leadership.—
Alexandra Hutzler,
ABC News,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In light of Collins recently being hospitalized for knee surgery, his fans were actually jarred and angered by an AI image of McCartney supposedly visiting him under far more dire circumstances.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
11 Aug. 2025
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Meanwhile, Russia stood back when Azerbaijan reclaimed control of Karabakh in the September 2023 offensive, angering Armenia, which has moved to shed Russian influence and turn westward.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The pair, who met as college undergrads, both burned with idealism and recognized their privilege could be leveraged for a game-changing idea.—
Carole Horst,
Variety,
13 Sep. 2023
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation promotes circular fashion and says that, in the United States, an amount of clothing equal to a garbage truck is ferried to landfills or burned every second.—
Neeti Mehra,
Treehugger,
13 Sep. 2023
Verb
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That, however, might send the yuan tumbling in ways that enrage Trump.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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Chair Jerome Powell has warned that worsening inflation could keep the Fed on the sidelines — a stance that has enraged Trump, who has defied traditional norms of central bank independence and demanded lower borrowing costs.—
Christopher Rugaber,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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They can be boiled, baked, roasted, fried, air-fried, or microwaved.12 They can be used as a main course or a side dish for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.—
Brittany Lubeck,
Verywell Health,
18 Aug. 2025
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Try throwing fresh cabbage into coleslaw and salads, fermenting it with sugar and salt for classic German sauerkraut, boiling it for traditional Irish colcannon, or braising it until tender for a quick and easy side dish.—
Heather Riske,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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This not only infuriated Epstein conspiracy theorists but also annoyed White House officials, who hadn’t been informed of the stunt in advance.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
18 Aug. 2025
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But overall, people seem to finally comprehend that the protests aren’t just to annoy people.—
Michelle L. Quinn,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rankle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rankle. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.
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