1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

rankles

verb

present tense third-person singular of rankle
1
as in steams
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 angers
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

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 rankles The brief war and status of the islands still rankles many Argentinians, and political leaders there are frequently pressured to take up the cause. — Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026 Sure, the upcoming move from Missouri to Kansas still rankles fans. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 July 2026 The fact that Carruth has been a free man since 2018 still rankles some who were involved in the case. — Charlotte Observer, 22 June 2026 The 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in Lisbon still rankles. — Laia Cervelló Herrero, New York Times, 21 May 2026 That such a talented businessman seems to have so little faith in the point of his product certainly rankles this consumer. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 20 May 2026 That is something that rankles Stammen, among others. — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2026 The irony and meaninglessness of the carnage rankles, especially when Ulysses is presented as such a nice guy who is prone to de-escalation in his day-to-day work. — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026 The irony and meaninglessness of the violence rankles, especially when Ulysses is presented as such a nice guy who is prone to de-escalation and community care in his day-to-day work. — Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 17 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankles
  1. steams
  2. angers
  3. rages
  4. infuriates
  5. boils
  6. enrages
  7. burns
  8. annoys
Verb
  • The kitchen steams between 1,500 and 1,800 of three varieties every night at Adams Morgan’s 11-year-old Afghan hot spot.
    — Warren Rojas, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The series left Netflix at the end of June (A Year in the Life remains available there) and currently steams on Hulu and Prime Video.
    — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of steams
Verb
  • The receptionist angers Kripke and Bert so much that they are picked up by the police — along with Stuart, who had also been arrested.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 31 July 2026
  • According to the myth, Agamemnon angers the goddess Artemis by killing one of her sacred deer.
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 20 July 2026
Definition of angers
Verb
  • As debate rages over how to respond to the growing power of artificial intelligence, Bill Gates is throwing a billion dollars and some words of wisdom at the problem.
    — Ella Chakarian, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Though the former couple finalized their divorce in December 2024, their legal battle over Château Miraval rages on.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of rages
Verb
  • Georgia Supreme Court challenger Jen Jordan infuriates Republicans with a new fundraising email.
    — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 15 May 2026
  • To that end, Nate's extravagant wedding infuriates Naz, who thinks Nate has the ability to pay him back but is holding out on him.
    — Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
Definition of infuriates
Verb
  • The Circle Tour links galleries, orchards, lighthouses, state parks, shops, and, yes, those famous fish boils, whose roaring fires and steaming potatoes are extra enticing on chilly fall nights.
    — Hannah Agran, Midwest Living, 12 Sep. 2026
  • The energy boils, and so does the tension between the woman in red and someone else competing for the same man.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of boils
Verb
  • The ghostly character doesn't have a particularly significant role in the story, but is a constant nuisance in the tapestry of Hogwarts with antics that include throwing things, making messes, pulling pranks, and generally causing mischief that enrages caretaker Argus Filch.
    — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 15 June 2026
  • This is exactly the kind of mainstream Christian view that enrages Allie Beth Stuckey.
    — Hillary Rodham Clinton, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
Definition of enrages
Verb
  • As political fix-it man, Fox burns some comic octane, his sense of timing and talent for the right gesture put to good use here.
    — Miles Beller, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Building these connections has to begin long before a fire starts, continue while the fire burns and endure long after the fire has ended.
    — Matt Thompson, The Conversation, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of burns
Verb
  • That very same thing is what annoys Liz about Charles 500 years later.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
  • But Turner is a symbol for everything that annoys people about the Phillies.
    — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Definition of annoys

Browse Nearby Words

rankled
rankles
rankling
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rankles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rankles. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All