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 The essay follows the yearslong debate over AI’s place within the creative industry, which has further rankled people after AI company leaders acknowledged the tools may slip out of human control. — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 23 Sep. 2026 Across the litigation, Paramount had been rankled that the government and dozens of foreign regulators cleared the purchase. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026 The secrecy around the project rankled; even though almost a quarter of it is owned by Albanian businessmen, their names are hidden in an offshore corporation. — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026 The Recon’s range will rankle some, but, honestly, the same complaints can be made about the fuel economy and driving range of the most capable internal combustion off-roaders. — Mark Phelan, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for rankle

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankle

Verb

Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani — steamed under a pastry crust and flavored with seasonings blended in India by Adi’s mother.

— Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026
The best way to preserve the magnesium content in vegetables is to microwave or steam them.

— Carrie Madormo, Verywell Health, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of steam

Verb

There’s just enough teasing to allow the Elriel and the Gwynriel wars to keep raging for a few months.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026
Elsewhere, the war rages on A Russian drone strike on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight wounded five people, including a 4-year-old child, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.

— Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of rage

Verb

Data center demand began driving up electric bills last year across a 13-state electricity grid stretching from Illinois to New Jersey and Maryland, angering ratepayers.

— Marc Levy, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Indeed, the survey showed that use of the horn is the most common action when drivers consider another driver to be annoying or angering them.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of anger

Verb

And, like the Raptor engines that power another SpaceX launcher, the giant Starship, Clydesdale will burn liquid oxygen and liquid methane, a combo known as methalox.

— Mike Wall, Space.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Residents evacuated as officials decided three days later to blow open five rail cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of burn

Verb

They were enraged at the way the current administration had decimated progressive policies toward children, women, people of color, gay people and transgender people.

— Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026
The administration removed hundreds of trees from the East Potomac Golf Links over the weekend, enraging the judge.

— Julia Boehning, The Hill, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of enrage

Verb

Plus, the sauce cooks while the pasta boils, putting this firmly in weeknight-dinner territory.

— Rachel Gurjar, Bon Appetit Magazine, 28 Oct. 2026
A lot of uncertainty remains in the lift capacity of Starship, as well as in how much cryogenic methane and liquid oxygen will boil off in orbit and how efficient the process of transferring propellants from one ship to another will be.

— Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of boil

Browse Nearby Words

rankings

rankle

rankled

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Style

“Rankle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rankle. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of rankle

verb

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