RANKLE Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

rankle

verb

ˈraŋ-kəl

Definition of rankle

as in to steam

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

as in to infuriate

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 rankle Sure, the upcoming move from Missouri to Kansas still rankles fans. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 July 2026 When Epstein’s appointment was announced, his political leanings – his cover letter for the role laid out an explicitly conservative vision – as well as his relative lack of experience rankled many FIU law faculty members. — Austin Horn july 24, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026 That data wasn’t always included in the FDA scientists’ presentations — a decision that rankled some committee members. — Sara G. Miller, NBC news, 23 July 2026 Lonnie is loud, obnoxious, and vulgar in ways that rankle traditional golfers. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for rankle

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankle

Verb

Their sound was described as a hybrid mixing elements of rock, blues and funk into a steaming-hot Houston stew.

— CBS News, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Brighter landscape shots with more complicated colors, however, like a steaming blue hot spring surrounded by yellow-red sand and green trees, don’t look nearly as vibrant as the lush greens and blues of the Planet Earth II footage.

— Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of steam

Verb

The White House’s abrupt decision last week to ease tariffs on 300,000 metric tons — more than 660 million pounds — of foreign beef imports has infuriated American cattle ranchers and congressional Republicans alike.

— Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
The heated rhetoric has infuriated and astonished most Canadians; in a recent poll, seventy-six per cent supported the decision of the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, to walk away from trade talks with Washington.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of infuriate

Verb

The deadly multistate outbreak, linked to iceberg lettuce, has raged on this summer.

— Rebecca Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
With wars still raging in the Middle East and Ukraine — and turbulence escalating globally — artists on the film festival circuit have been navigating political minefields.

— Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of rage

Verb

That angered Michigan Democrats who were frustrated with El-Sayed, and brought Jeffries and other Democrats into the fray, putting the candidate El-Sayed had invested the most in on the defensive.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
The president is defending the data center boom as GOP officials across the country turn against projects that have angered voters.

— Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of anger

Verb

Fans of Dolly Parton have erected a memorial at the legendary singer-songwriter’s star on Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame, placing flowers, cards and candles that continue to burn into the morning hours.

— Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
At least five structures are known to have been burned, and additional damage assessments are expected to be conducted later Tuesday today.

— Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of burn

Verb

The hiring of the Catalan content creator, however, has only served to enrage the public, rather than enticing them to watch the race.

— Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
The comment at a rally last Sunday titillated, provoked and enraged different audiences simultaneously, all but guaranteeing saturation news coverage and even more attention.

— Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of enrage

Verb

Getting that apparently trivial behavior working involved Home Assistant, MQTT, custom software, and more Claude, Codex and ChatGPT tokens than one should reasonably associate with boiling pasta.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 Aug. 2026
The clip, filmed last month, appeared to show a young man standing on a table at a Haidilao branch in Shanghai urinating into a vat of boiling broth.

— Jenny Lee, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of boil

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rankings

rankle

rankled

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“Rankle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rankle. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of rankle

verb

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