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
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
See All Example Sentences for rankle
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
See All Example Sentences for rankle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankle
Verb
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Loud marching bands paraded randomly through the cobblestoned streets and alleys, food vendors attracted crowds with their steaming hot Cervelat and St. Galler bratwurst, plates of creamy raclette, and fresh pints of local beer.—
Ben Davidson Correspondent,
Oc Register,
6 Aug. 2025
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Michael Mann–style shots of characters considering their lives while staring into the middle distance at crashing waves or steaming fields of lava are beautiful and plentiful.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
1 Aug. 2025
Verb
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One of the stranger conspiracies to emerge from the absurd, infuriating intervening years is the insistence by some that, owing to shadowy weather-manipulating entities, the sky has changed for the worse.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
2 Aug. 2025
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Instead, a newspaper reporter got wind of the scheme and published the details, which infuriated the lottery's oversight board.—
John C. Moritz,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 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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After almost zero wheedling, Fairburn gives Wednesday some real dirt: Galpin visited Tyler once, and the interaction enraged Tyler beyond anything the doctor had ever seen before.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
6 Aug. 2025
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That deal, which has often led to a massive spending bill known as an omnibus negotiated by House and Senate leaders, enrages conservatives who complain most lawmakers are left out of the process.—
Aris Folley,
The Hill,
5 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Dominating a narrow workflow beats boiling the ocean. 3.—
Ashis Ghosh,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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To keep things healthy, try baking or boiling them instead of deep frying.2 When consumed unripe, plantains cause a slower rise in blood sugar compared to ripe bananas or refined carbs.—
T'Keyah Bazin,
Verywell Health,
6 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 22 Aug. 2025.
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