rankle

verb

ran·​kle ˈraŋ-kəl 

rankled; rankling ˈraŋ-k(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to cause anger, irritation, or deep bitterness

2

: to feel anger and irritation

transitive verb

: to cause irritation or bitterness in

Did you know?

The Connection Between Rankle and Dragon

When rankle was first used in English, it meant "to fester," and that meaning is related to French words referring to a sore and tracing to Latin dracunculus. The Latin is from draco, the word for a serpent and the source of English's dragon. The transition from serpents to sores is apparently from people associating the appearance of certain ulcers or tumors to small serpents.

Synonyms

• boil
• burn
• foam
• fume
• rage
• seethe
• sizzle
• steam
• storm

Examples of rankle in a Sentence

The joke about her family rankled her.

that kind of rude treatment from a young person makes me rankle

Recent Examples on the Web

The television programmers’ move to offer their own streaming services has rankled distributors, who feel that their longtime partners have turned into rivals. —Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2024

The new rule has especially rankled the oil and gas industry, which says the commission is unfairly punishing its industrial sector, a major source of climate-warming emissions. —Maxine Joselow, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024

The letter, shared first with STAT, comes roughly two weeks after a top HHS official testified before his committee, rankling Republicans who accuse the agency of withholding and delaying internal documents about Covid-19’s origins, shutdown measures and other policies. —Sarah Owermohle, STAT, 20 Feb. 2024

The proposal pleased New Mexicans and rankled Arizonans of the time. —Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024

The war and status of the islands still rankles deeply many Argentinians and the cause has often been taken up by the country’s politicians in the years since. —Abel Alvarado, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024

Still, Gallagher’s move has rankled some in the northeastern Wisconsin district. —Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2024

But the draft always rankled many in the U.S. As the Vietnam War dragged on and grew more intense, opposition grew to the draft as well as the war itself. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024

No issue facing Maryland has rankled Maddage more than the lack of affordable housing. —Emily Guskin, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ranclen to fester, from Anglo-French rancler, from Old French draoncler, raoncler, from draoncle, raoncle festering sore, from Medieval Latin dracunculus, from Latin, diminutive of draco serpent — more at dragon

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

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Kids Definition

rankle

verb

ran·​kle ˈraŋ-kəl 

rankled; rankling -k(ə-)liŋ 

: to cause anger, irritation, or deep bitterness

Etymology

Middle English ranclen "to fester," from early French rancler (same meaning), derived from earlier draoncle, raoncle "a festering sore," from Latin dracunculus "little serpent, little dragon," from earlier draco "serpent, dragon," from Greek drākon "serpent, dragon" — related to dragon

Word Origin

The Greek word drakōn, meaning "serpent, dragon," was borrowed into Latin as draco. Later, the noun dracunculus, meaning "little serpent," was formed from draco. The French borrowed this noun as draoncle or raoncle but used it for "a festering sore or ulcer." It seems that the form of such a sore looked something like the form of a small serpent. From the noun the French formed the verb rancler, "to fester." In the 14th century, the verb was taken into English as rankle, with the same meaning. Our word dragon also comes from the Greek drakōn by way of the Latin draco.