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
Omar’s growing outrage, especially when precious time is lost because of jammed phone lines, troubling silences and false assumptions, rankles Mahdi, the most overstretched of anyone at the call center.
—
Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
But he's paired with Travis (Davidson), whose cheery demeanor increasingly rankles until their truck is hijacked and the two have to bond to survive.
—Marco Della Cava, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2025
Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
But he's paired with Travis (Davidson), whose cheery demeanor increasingly rankles until their truck is hijacked and the two have to bond to survive.
—Marco Della Cava, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankles
Verb
-
At its heart sits Viti, a striking blue crater lake that steams invitingly in contrast to the stark black landscape.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
-
CookingPal’s gadget suggests meals, fetches recipes, chops, stirs, and steams ingredients, and then cleans up after itself.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Jan. 2020
Verb
-
Silence only angers the other, and exacerbates their criticism and contempt.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Season 2 picks up after Kimmie marries businessman Horace Bellarie, inheriting a new sense of power that angers her in-laws, Netflix said in its release.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
23 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Fire rages through the Singha Durbar, the main administrative building for the Nepal government, in Kathmandu on September 9, 2025 amid widespread protests.—
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
-
As war rages in Europe, the two children navigate danger and secrets that challenge their understanding of family and friendship, reshaping their childhoods forever.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Elsewhere, the photo of Cartman is a reference to his reaction of Clyde’s incendiary new podcast that has a right wing theme that infuriates the perpetual instigator.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Their eponymous theme sets the tone with a churning brew of twinkling synths and ritualistic percussion, both of which are eventually subsumed into the supernatural (represented by the theremin) before a crash of guitar boils everything together into chaos.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
20 Aug. 2025
-
However, these blemishes are often a skin condition other than acne, such as folliculitis, boils, contact dermatitis, or keratosis pilaris.—
Sherri Gordon,
Health,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The episode also takes aim at conservative podcast culture with a storyline involving a fourth grader named Clyde who finds fame as a White nationalist podcaster, which enrages Eric Cartman, who is the show’s resident bigot.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Still, the inclusion of Agnes naturally enrages Enid.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The spark becomes a blaze, and trust between citizens and the military burns with it.—
Eric Chastain,
Twin Cities,
7 Sep. 2025
-
As a guy who is simply not built for summer (sweaty, burns easily, refuses to wear shorts), the turning of the calendar to September adds a little lead to my tread, with visions of cider and sweaters dancing in my head.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This annoys his wife, who hankers after Bingley (sight unseen) as a future son-in-law.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rankles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rankles. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share