as in angered
feeling or showing anger
our supervisor was rankled by all the unexpected delays and problems we ran into
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rankled
Ct Mirror, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2026
Privacy and personal property concerns, rankled egos, etc.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 25 Feb. 2026
The implication of the injury saga rankled White, who felt the Bulls medical team provided adequate care during his time in Chicago.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
Efforts met with celebration and criticism Despite his success in negotiating releases in the mid-80s, Jackson's unrelenting push at times rankled the Reagan administration, especially as his second, more successful, bid for the White House in 1988 further raised his profile.
—Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
But that decision rankled many.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Early in her tenure, Noem made decisions that rankled Coast Guard officials, including shifting resources away from a search-and-rescue mission to find a missing service member and putting them toward deporting migrants, the sources told NBC News.
—NBC news, 17 Feb. 2026
Ryan, who recently switched his representation to VC Sports Group, also downplayed the notion that he was rankled by the arbitration process.
—Dan Hayes, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
While the club’s decision to keep much of last year’s roster intact has rankled parts of a fanbase that is waiting for its first championship since 2009 — the team can still add before Opening Day — there have been a few new additions.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 8 Feb. 2026
Verb
The bill’s reemergence has rankled Republican lawmakers, who said new regulation on warehouses would target some of the state’s largest employers and insert the state into the employer-employee relationship.
—Ct Mirror, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2026
Privacy and personal property concerns, rankled egos, etc.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 25 Feb. 2026
The implication of the injury saga rankled White, who felt the Bulls medical team provided adequate care during his time in Chicago.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
Efforts met with celebration and criticism Despite his success in negotiating releases in the mid-80s, Jackson's unrelenting push at times rankled the Reagan administration, especially as his second, more successful, bid for the White House in 1988 further raised his profile.
—Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
But that decision rankled many.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Early in her tenure, Noem made decisions that rankled Coast Guard officials, including shifting resources away from a search-and-rescue mission to find a missing service member and putting them toward deporting migrants, the sources told NBC News.
—NBC news, 17 Feb. 2026
Ryan, who recently switched his representation to VC Sports Group, also downplayed the notion that he was rankled by the arbitration process.
—Dan Hayes, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
While the club’s decision to keep much of last year’s roster intact has rankled parts of a fanbase that is waiting for its first championship since 2009 — the team can still add before Opening Day — there have been a few new additions.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 8 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankled
Adjective
-
Police said the two male juveniles became angered when the other three would not take them to buy marijuana.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
20 Jan. 2026
-
Soon, the faces of the angered New York City citizens around her soften.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Yet detailed accounts of the Convention show heated exchanges over slavery, representation and taxation raged for months after the prayer.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
-
On Saturday, a fire raged at a three-story, hillside home in Laurel Canyon, where over 100 firefighters extinguished the blaze in the main house, the exterior of an adjacent building and surrounding vegetation in one hour and 13 minutes, LAFD said in a news release.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But Trump’s decision to use military force to go after foreign leaders is an about-face that has infuriated many of his own MAGA supporters.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The move infuriated officials at the Pentagon.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Shortly after administering the technical to an enraged Self, referee Doug Sirmons hit KU’s coach with another tech, ostensibly for remaining on the court instead of returning to the coach’s box.—
Gary Bedore
March 5,
Kansas City Star,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Latinx people of conscience recognize our own tios, tias, primos, primas, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers in the brown faces being livestreamed with blood and agony pouring into enraged mouths asking for help.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The dish is topped with a final wonton layer and a bit of chicken broth or water, then steamed in a steamer for about 25 minutes.—
Joseph Erbentraut,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Green Tea Green tea is made from fresh tea leaves that are steamed at high temperatures, which helps preserve their high polyphenol content.—
Amy Brownstein,
Verywell Health,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In the early 1930s, Weill made quite a splash with his Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and Threepenny Opera, but their edgy social commentary and tart music annoyed the Nazis.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The people in line behind me were annoyed, checking their watches and peering ahead trying to figure out what was taking so long.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Burkle alleges that Anderson stopped paying him in 2014 after becoming angry with him over an unspecified personal dispute, the complaint states.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Our tormentor is angry the state chose Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 and has not met his demands to stop mail-in voting and release his supporter and fellow election denier Tina Peters from prison.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
With less than five seconds remaining in regulation, King and teammate George Natsvlishvili stormed up the court in hopes of a buzzer-beating shot.—
Tom Carothers,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
-
The two sat up front and refused to move, angering the driver, who stormed off at every stop, all through the night.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rankled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rankled. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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