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.
have rankled
-
present perfectof rankle.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
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.
Finishing fourth was not a failure but it will have rankled with perfectionist Emery.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
And nothing seems to have rankled more than its alleged endorsement of the contraction “ain’t”—a word undeniably present in the text, though carefully described as “disapproved by many and more common in less educated speech.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2025
But the approval did little to dispel the mystery surrounding unexpected and unannounced changes made to the bill earlier this week that have rankled the Atlantic City casino industry.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 30, 2023
Claims of copyright infringement have rankled AI firms in recent months with Getty Images suing Stable Diffusion for using copyrighted photos to train its systems.
From Reuters ● Apr. 28, 2023
"The sort of details you fully relish—" How that phrase must have rankled!
From The Three Brontës by May Sinclair
