How to Use rankle in a Sentence

rankle

verb
  • The joke about her family rankled her.
  • The team’s move has rankled many people in the East Bay.
    Sean Gregory/oakland, Time, 20 June 2019
  • And that's one of the reasons why the memo rankled reporters.
    Brian Stelter, CNN, 2 Aug. 2019
  • And even if none of that were the case, the move rankles on principle alone.
    Brian Barrett, WIRED, 30 June 2019
  • If someone were to describe the B-52’s as an oldies act, would that rankle you?
    Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2022
  • Trinke has been dead for years, but mention of his name still rankles Brandt.
    Brian E. Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2017
  • The scandal still rankles people in the Caracas slum of Petare.
    Fox News, 8 Apr. 2020
  • If the screen and sound don’t rankle you, the 8GB of internal storage might give you pause.
    Jeffrey Van Camp, WIRED, 18 Oct. 2017
  • That’s sure to rankle Boise State fans — and plenty of other fans, too.
    Dave Southorn, idahostatesman, 18 Jan. 2018
  • While it was meant as high praise, the description rankled him.
    Kyle Buchanan, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2023
  • That talk rankles the old school, which hears it as an apologia for stock prices that seem to be bubbling over.
    Bloomberg, latimes.com, 8 June 2018
  • That rankled some residents with a front row seat to it.
    Anne Geggis, Sun-Sentinel.com, 20 Sep. 2017
  • That has rankled some of those involved in buying the Marlins.
    Dave Hyde, Sun-Sentinel.com, 18 Aug. 2017
  • The idea rankled some in the community but after a few town hall meetings the project is still on.
    Kristina Davis, sandiegouniontribune.com, 14 Oct. 2017
  • Jayne never shopped with him again—and decades later, the episode clearly still rankled.
    Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2019
  • The moody lighting in another film likewise rankled the denizens of the front office.
    Longreads, 15 May 2018
  • Now, though, the attempts to force us all onto the family’s own terms rankle.
    Daniel D'addario, Variety, 14 Nov. 2022
  • Even so, some of the cost cutting has rankled key constituencies.
    Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 14 Aug. 2024
  • The ad rankled former Obama aides, but none of them went so far as to send Mr. Sanders a cease and desist letter.
    New York Times, 2 Apr. 2020
  • It’s the other 10% that rankle coaches, players and fans.
    Michael Lev, The Arizona Republic, 30 Sep. 2021
  • The plan rankled Breed and the Department of Public Health, who say they weren’t consulted in the plan’s creation.
    Trisha Thadani, SFChronicle.com, 12 Feb. 2020
  • What might rankle Trump and his supporters more is the ranking of Barack Obama ...
    Cliff Pinckard, cleveland, 1 July 2021
  • The next coach will face the same expectations that so rankled McElwain.
    Andy Staples, SI.com, 29 Oct. 2017
  • Kacey felt the pivot and the influx of new listeners might rankle someone but didn’t care.
    Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2021
  • The competing plans from the aldermen appeared to rankle some of the City Council, with Ald.
    Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 21 Sep. 2022
  • Gantz’s three-day trip to the US capital has rankled some of Netanyahu’s allies.
    Helen Regan, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024
  • The use of test scores has rankled some Alliance teachers, who say the exams were not designed for this purpose.
    Anna M. Phillips, latimes.com, 2 May 2018
  • But the losses in the top category are likely to rankle their fans.
    Paul Grein, Billboard, 6 Feb. 2023
  • But once the couple got to Mexico, Nick’s goofy behavior started to rankle her.
    Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 2 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

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rankle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: