as in irritating
causing annoyance
for some air travelers, the most rankling aspect of the security measures seems to be the restrictions regarding carry-on baggage
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in raging
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 angering
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankling
Adjective
-
There’s never been a more irritating trio of possible playoff opponents than Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Dan Hayes.—
Aaron Gleeman,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2025 -
Like nails on a chalkboard, whining—an irritating blend of talking and crying—has the ability to make almost any parent either lose their temper or cave.—
Debby Waldman,
Parents,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Then the truck flipped over, sending the workers into the raging water.—
Travis Loller,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Dec. 2024
-
Here is the list of fighters that gained immortality as a result of this raging inferno.—
Interesting Engineering,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
The prequel will introduce his family and girlfriend and the events that led up to his victory, notorious for angering the Capitol elite.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA TODAY,
12 Mar. 2025
-
Reports suggest that some Republican lawmakers are frustrated with Musk’s bluster and that the DOGE approach to slashing the federal bureaucracy is angering constituents and making lawmakers less popular in their districts.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
That’s frustrating – to come so close to reaching the summit and miss out by just one space is annoying.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
4 May 2025
-
That can be annoying, but NotebookLM is not—this one actually works.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
2 May 2025
Adjective
-
Technical glitches and changing rules are frustrating borrowers trying to plan.—
Shahar Ziv,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
-
Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson spoke about the frustrating Game 2 loss, revealing a big regret that led to the defeat.—
Matt Levine,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 May 2025
Verb
-
The company built a retail and residential complex around the county’s Coconut Grove Metrorail station, and Martin also is pitching an incinerator site in western Miami-Dade as an alternative to the Levine Cava plan to rebuild the trash-burning facility in Doral.—
Douglas Hanks,
Miami Herald,
4 Jan. 2025
-
President Biden awarded the coveted Medal of Valor on Friday to a pair of heroic FDNY firefighters who ignored intense flames and selflessly raced into danger to save desperate New Yorkers who were trapped in burning buildings.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
3 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Proponents have long invoked civil rights language to promote vouchers, a disturbing rhetorical choice given vouchers originated as a tool for southern white parents to avoid the Supreme Court's desegregation order in Brown v. Board of Education.—
Kevin Sabet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 May 2025
-
Actress Isabella Rossellini reflects on the film’s disturbing material and autobiographical elements while resisting reductive interpretations.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2025
Verb
-
Coursing through all of these elements is a seething anger at authoritarianism.—
Glenn Whipp,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Dec. 2024
-
Cox and his team were brought in by a handful of wealthy Colorado ranch owners who were still seething over the ballot measure to introduce wolves that passed in 2020 by less than one percent.—
Chris Dorsey,
Forbes,
18 Dec. 2024
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.
Cite this Entry
“Rankling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rankling. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share