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
• annoyed
• sore
• irate
• livid
• rabid
• inflamed
• passionate
• apoplectic
• fuming
• wroth
• irritable
• wrathful
• roiled
• hot
• hot under the collar
• fit to be tied
• in a huff
• in a pet
• choleric
• blue in the face
• steaming
• ticked
• bent out of shape
• shirty
• hopping mad
• foaming
• in a fume
• ireful
• aggravated
• exasperated
• hopping
• cheesed off
• going crook
• bristling
• seething
• steamed up
• embittered
• resentful
• boiling
• teed off
• rancorous
• antagonistic
• horn-mad
• worked up
• wrought (up)
• unpleasant
• bristly
• riley
• vindictive
• cross
• virulent
• ranting
• spiteful
• acrimonious
• inimical
• perturbed
• churlish
• antipathetic
• vitriolic
• huffy
• burning
• disagreeable
• vengeful
• distant
• malevolent
• peevish
• smoldering
• fretful
• sulky
• acrid
• testy
• piqued
• unfriendly
• irascible
• petulant
• cantankerous
• stormy
• bitter
• touchy
• sizzling
• dyspeptic
• icy
• disapproving
• bilious
• raving
• antisocial
• belligerent
• snappish
• ornery
• frigid
• querulous
• cold
• 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

Advertisement That prescription has rankled many cybersecurity experts who scoff at the possibility that their expertise will be rendered obsolete. — Harry Booth, Time, 20 Oct. 2026

Such a statement may have rankled in Princeton’s hallowed halls. — Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026

El-Sayed, an American of Egyptian descent who would be the first Muslim senator if elected, has rankled at the GOP accusations, including in a recent TV interview. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Over all these sounds, Casey bemoans a world rankled with cryptocurrency, data centers and fascists. — David Harris, SPIN, 28 Sep. 2026

The essay follows the yearslong debate over AI’s place within the creative industry, which has further rankled people after AI company leaders acknowledged the tools may slip out of human control. — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 23 Sep. 2026

Across the litigation, Paramount had been rankled that the government and dozens of foreign regulators cleared the purchase. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026

The secrecy around the project rankled; even though almost a quarter of it is owned by Albanian businessmen, their names are hidden in an offshore corporation. — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Districts rankled by LifeWise rollout On a Friday in May, a LifeWise program director notified a Denton ISD middle school that Bible classes would begin the following Monday. — Kelsy Mittauer, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026