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
-
For some people, double cleansing may be too irritating.—
Sarah Bence,
Verywell Health,
15 May 2025 -
Not just the threat-of-extinction stuff, which includes Bassett’s POTUS debating which American city to blow up as a preemptive gesture, but by its own irritating God’s-eye omniscience that rarely allows the suspense to spool out in the present.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 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
-
While the wrinkling could be slightly annoying for some, given the luxurious feel of the sateen cover, the wrinkling wasn’t a deal breaker.—
Rebecca Jones,
Southern Living,
30 May 2025
-
For anyone with wide feet who’s used to settling for less in terms of fit, this slip-on style is a breath of fresh air—no annoying break-in period, no hotspots, and no slipping around.—
Lauren Paige Richeson,
Health,
29 May 2025
Adjective
-
To help avoid these frustrating and disappointing situations, travelers should plan to bring along a healthy dose of skepticism on their next trip—and think twice before paying for any offer that sounds too good to be true.—
Jessica Puckett,
Travel + Leisure,
3 June 2025
-
All of which is just my way of explaining why fans, who love these stories, might be distraught and might see all the success Martin has had thanks to his unfinished work and the support of his fans, as frustrating.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
3 June 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
-
Nothing has officially happened yet, but the tension is disturbing with the consequences potentially devastating.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 May 2025
-
That’s a quite disturbing possibility since AGI could wield such an act on a scale of immense magnitude and with globally adverse consequences.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 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 10 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share