Synonyms of rankled

rankled 1 of 2

adjective

as in angered

feeling or showing anger

our supervisor was rankled by all the unexpected delays and problems we ran into

Synonyms & Similar Words

• angered
• infuriated
• enraged
• angry
• outraged
• indignant
• mad
• furious
• infuriate
• ballistic
• incensed
• riled
• sore
• annoyed
• irate
• rabid
• livid
• passionate
• inflamed
• apoplectic
• fuming
• wroth
• irritable
• hot
• wrathful
• roiled
• hot under the collar
• fit to be tied
• in a huff
• steaming
• in a pet
• choleric
• blue in the face
• ticked
• bent out of shape
• shirty
• foaming
• hopping mad
• in a fume
• aggravated
• exasperated
• ireful
• hopping
• cheesed off
• going crook
• bristling
• seething
• steamed up
• embittered
• resentful
• boiling
• teed off
• rancorous
• antagonistic
• horn-mad
• worked up
• unpleasant
• wrought (up)
• bristly
• riley
• cross
• vindictive
• virulent
• spiteful
• ranting
• acrimonious
• inimical
• perturbed
• churlish
• antipathetic
• vitriolic
• huffy
• burning
• disagreeable
• distant
• vengeful
• malevolent
• smoldering
• peevish
• fretful
• sulky
• acrid
• testy
• piqued
• unfriendly
• irascible
• petulant
• cantankerous
• bitter
• stormy
• touchy
• sizzling
• dyspeptic
• icy
• disapproving
• raving
• bilious
• antisocial
• belligerent
• snappish
• ornery
• frigid
• cold
• querulous
• contentious
• quarrelsome
• pugnacious
• grumpy
• grouchy
• cranky
• inflammable
• contrary
• fussy
• disputatious
• ill-tempered
• crabby
• cool
• sorehead
• argumentative
• bearish
• ill-humored
• quick-tempered
• put out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pleased
• delighted
• accepting
• accommodating
• agreeable
• amenable
• friendly
• complaisant
• sympathetic
• happy
• cordial
• satisfied
• obliging
• amicable
• content
• tolerant
• calm
• understanding
• empathetic
• kind
• pleasant
• angerless
• placid
• amiable
• sweet
• good-natured
• serene
• peaceable
• affable
• tranquil
• genial
• easygoing
• pacific
• unembittered
• good-tempered

rankled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of rankle

1

as in raged

to be excited or emotionally stirred up with anger

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• raged
• steamed
• stormed
• burned
• shook
• boiled
• seethed
• fumed
• foamed
• sizzled
• agitated
• ranted
• saw red
• bristled
• raved
• inflamed
• chafed
• smoldered
• fulminated
• convulsed
• roiled
• stewed
• flared (up)
• fretted

2

as in infuriated

to make angry

it rankles me when some schools can't even afford paper and pencils for the students

Synonyms & Similar Words

• angered
• infuriated
• enraged
• annoyed
• outraged
• irritated
• incensed
• riled
• offended
• roiled
• inflamed
• maddened
• provoked
• aggravated
• ired
• ticked off
• steamed up
• nettled
• affronted
• vexed
• miffed
• exasperated
• ruffled
• peeved
• madded
• piqued
• huffed
• crossed
• rubbed the wrong way
• antagonized
• burned (up)
• got
• got one's goat
• embittered
• put out
• envenomed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pleased
• gratified
• delighted
• relieved
• allayed
• comforted
• soothed
• consoled
• assuaged
• appeased
• mollified
• settled
• quieted
• calmed
• pacified
• lulled
• charmed
• captivated
• placated
• enchanted
• disarmed
• beguiled
• bewitched
• conciliated

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of rankled

Verb

Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist who in the overwhelmingly Democratic city is likely to be its next mayor, has already rankled Trump. — Gary Fields, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026

Upon taking over as chairman, Tom Pohlad insisted the club needed to atone for a series of mistakes made by ownership over 2 1/2 years that rankled fans and players alike. — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026

When Epstein’s appointment was announced, his political leanings – his cover letter for the role laid out an explicitly conservative vision – as well as his relative lack of experience rankled many FIU law faculty members. — Austin Horn july 24, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026

That data wasn’t always included in the FDA scientists’ presentations — a decision that rankled some committee members. — Sara G. Miller, NBC news, 23 July 2026

But the guard rankled at the July 6 decision to pull her out of the starting lineup, blasting the move on social media and doubling down in an ensuing media availability in Phoenix. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026

The absence of any Greek actors in the principal cast of The Odyssey has rankled many who had hoped for prominent Greek representation in a foundational work of Greek literature. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 July 2026

Armenia also played host to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a move that further rankled the Kremlin, especially because Pashinyan and Zelensky held talks in English, rather than in Russian, the old Soviet lingua franca. — Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 8 June 2026

Read more here about how Trump's non-endorsement of Cornyn, in favor of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, rankled GOP lawmakers. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 20 May 2026