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
Relevance
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
What does rankle, however, is that that by glossing over such matters, the final film has been mostly stripped of any humanity, good and bad.
—
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 21 Apr. 2026
The actress, producer and book club founder took to social media to speak out about leaning in to artificial intelligence, rankling some of her followers in the process.
—Anika Reed, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2026
The irony and meaninglessness of the carnage rankles, especially when Ulysses is presented as such a nice guy who is prone to de-escalation in his day-to-day work.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
The irony and meaninglessness of the violence rankles, especially when Ulysses is presented as such a nice guy who is prone to de-escalation and community care in his day-to-day work.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 17 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rankle
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 21 Apr. 2026
The actress, producer and book club founder took to social media to speak out about leaning in to artificial intelligence, rankling some of her followers in the process.
—Anika Reed, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2026
The irony and meaninglessness of the carnage rankles, especially when Ulysses is presented as such a nice guy who is prone to de-escalation in his day-to-day work.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
The irony and meaninglessness of the violence rankles, especially when Ulysses is presented as such a nice guy who is prone to de-escalation and community care in his day-to-day work.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 17 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rankle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankle
Verb
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Edamame is another easy option—try steaming it and topping it with a sprinkle of salt.—
Stephanie Anderson Witmer,
Health,
19 May 2026
-
Today, Meta is steaming toward its own field of ice.—
Bhakti Mirchandani,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2026
Verb
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Rising gas prices and an unpopular war in Iran have infuriated prominent MAGA figures online, but in terms of GOP elections, the president has been able to elbow out critics in Congress and disobedient legislators in red states.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
17 May 2026
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Georgia Supreme Court challenger Jen Jordan infuriates Republicans with a new fundraising email.—
Adam Beam,
AJC.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Outside his ivory tower, the heterosis disease is raging on, turning men whose appetites normally lay only in prostate orgasms, poppers, all-night benders, and chemsex into the kind of people who suddenly have an affection for a church wedding.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
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As the war [by Russia in Ukraine] rages on, Sakha culture is increasingly reaching beyond its borders and building new connections with the East.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
Verb
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Set in 1986, the story follows two brothers, Irwin and Gary Pearl, whose get-rich scheme to help clean up the Gowanus Canal ends in disaster after Irwin (Teller), a nebbish family man, angers Russian mobsters by unwittingly witnessing their criminal activity.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
16 May 2026
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The delay angered rural Republicans, who wanted to see the farm bill passed.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Or, at least, distract us from the sensation of burning?—
Caroline Rose Giuliani,
New Yorker,
19 May 2026
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The fire has burned two historic structures on the island, which is home to rare plant species like the Torrey pine.—
Paris Barraza,
USA Today,
19 May 2026
Verb
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That change, which postponed the 2025 election to 2026, enraged some residents.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2026
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The judge rejected the Suffolk District Attorney’s recommendation of 12 years and cut it in half, enraging prosecutors.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Liquid helium has to travel in cryogenic ISO containers that boil off after 35 to 48 days, and industry reporting said roughly 200 of those containers were stranded near the Strait of Hormuz.—
Güney Yıldız,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Several hours ahead or two days ahead, plunge beans into 3 to 4 quarts of rapidly boiling water.—
Cathy Thomas,
Oc Register,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
That’s what so annoys Erika at some point.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
18 May 2026
-
But if creases annoy you, look elsewhere.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rankle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rankle. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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