rankle
verb (used without object)
(of unpleasant feelings, experiences, etc.) to continue to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment within the mind; fester; be painful.
had been rankling
-
past perfect progressiveof rankle.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These matters had been rankling until the Bishop sounded shrill and frenzied.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Balkan railway question had been rankling for years.
From Twenty Years Of Balkan Tangle by M. E. (Mary Edith) Durham
The loss of the horse had been rankling in his heart all day.
From Hopalong Cassidy's Rustler Round-Up by Clarence Edward Mulford
But the rain, the giggling boys, the smiling Turk, and the sudden drop from royalty to insignificance had been rankling in Jo's mind.
From The Luck of Thirteen Wanderings and Flight through Montenegro and Serbia by Cora Gordon
This fact, which his wife so flippantly reminded him of, had been rankling all day in his hitherto blameless conscience like a torturing thorn.
From By Veldt and Kopje by W. C. (William Charles) Scully
