rankled 1 of 2

as in angered
feeling or showing anger our supervisor was rankled by all the unexpected delays and problems we ran into

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

rankled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of rankle

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rankled
Verb
That experience had rankled in my soul ever since. Ben East, Outdoor Life, 28 Aug. 2025 Dobson's unflinching conservatism rankled some Republican leaders at the height of his influence. Jason Derose, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025 Environmental groups, others long oppose SpaceX rocket launches That aggressive approach, though, has rankled environmentalists and others who have criticized SpaceX's operations for potentially decimating regional ecosystems. Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025 Having to spend three hours being poked and prodded and prevented from making phone calls rankled; Diamandis is an incorrigible multitasker. Tad Friend, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025 One part of Harris’ platform particularly rankled Sasse. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2024 This has rankled many in America’s spy community. Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Nov. 2024 The new labor movement has clearly rankled prominent tech figures, Musk among them. Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 15 Oct. 2024 Those comments rankled Swayman’s agent Lewis Gross, who posted a response to Neely on social media. Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 1 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankled
Adjective
  • Soon, the faces of the angered New York City citizens around her soften.
    Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • In one incident, his attorney said, Egyptian forces with machine guns stormed into an apartment where Soliman was asleep with his wife and young child.
    Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Advertisement Advertisement Protesters stormed the Parliament in Kathmandu, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons, and, according to human rights organization Amnesty International, live ammunition.
    Chad de Guzman, Time, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Her son’s middling grades infuriated her.
    Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The announcement infuriated both Democratic and Republican officials in Colorado, which has a booming aerospace industry.
    Kim Chandler, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Mistaken as the murderer, Mary is stoned and buried alive in a shallow grave by the enraged townspeople.
    Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 20 Aug. 2025
  • An enraged Trump held up the attack as symptomatic of the deteriorating conditions in the capital, vowing to take drastic measures to restore the city to its former glory.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The one-Michelin-star kitchen highlights Cantonese dishes, from Xing grouper steamed in lotus leaves to a too-pretty-to-eat tofu chrysanthemum flower.
    AFAR Media, AFAR Media, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Instead, green tea leaves are dried and often rolled or steamed to preserve their flavor and aroma before being packaged as loose leaves or in tea bags.
    Jillian Kubala, Health, 26 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Keanu, still annoyed from the veto ceremony, talked to Ava Pearl in the HOH room and called Rachel a liar.
    David Wysong, Cincinnati Enquirer, 4 Sep. 2025
  • This thrilled her base—and annoyed many casual listeners.
    Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • One unbearable sequence has Chiang coming back angry in the middle of the day and suddenly raping Chuan in their bedroom.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
  • In late July, centrist independent US Senator Angus King released a startlingly angry statement.
    Jack Sheehan September 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • As the controversy raged on, the couple remained boldly unrepentant.
    Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
  • World leaders have pushed for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which has raged for more than three years since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion.
    Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rankled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rankled. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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