rankle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
rankles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rankled,
past participle, past
-
rankling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
rankles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rankled,
past participle, past
-
rankling
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ranklesimple
-
ranklessimple
-
have rankledperfect
-
has rankledperfect
-
am ranklingprogressive
-
are ranklingprogressive
-
is ranklingprogressive
-
have been ranklingperfect progressive
-
has been ranklingperfect progressive
Past
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rankledsimple
-
had rankledperfect
-
was ranklingprogressive
-
were ranklingprogressive
-
had been ranklingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rankle
1250–1300; Middle English ranclen < Middle French rancler, Old French raoncler, variant of draoncler to fester, derivative of draoncle a sore < Late Latin dracunculus small serpent, diminutive of Latin dracō serpent; see dragon, carbuncle
Explanation
Rankle is a cranky-sounding verb that means to eat away at or aggravate to the point of causing anger. If you want to rankle a cat, try splashing it with water and then putting it in the bathtub. Rankle goes back to the French verb rancler, which comes from an old word for "festering sore," which paints a pretty negative picture of what it means to rankle. A sore that festers gets worse and worse, or more infected, and if you rankle someone, they will get more and more angry. "Ankle" rhymes with rankle, and if you were to prank a friend and hold him by his ankles over a trash can every day for a week, it would definitely rankle him.
Vocabulary lists containing rankle
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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.
See Examples For:
The defeat and the nature of it will rankle, especially because she was considered a serious challenger for the title.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
That seemed to rankle several of the justices across ideological lines.
From Slate ● Jan. 10, 2025
For a president championed as Mexico’s most environmentally conscious leader – before entering politics, Sheinbaum was an accomplished environmental engineer – that must rankle.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2024
Winter has been unafraid to rankle city and county officials as she has criticized the status quo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2024
I was proud of my sister, but that year, something began to rankle beneath the pride.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
It still rankles, apparently: At that “legal forum” in May 2025 in St. Petersburg, Konstantin Chuychenko, the Russian minister of justice held forth on the subject.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Collinsworth has successfully walked that line of being candid yet not crass, to always speak his mind even though his opinions often rankles fans of all 32 teams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
It is clear from speaking to Pochettino that it particularly rankles from his time at Tottenham.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2025
That rankles, and the latest street protests over pay have come from police officers.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
Wit, however, is too often but another name for sarcasm and ridicule, that, like a barbed arrow, rankles long in the soul of its victim.
From Social Life or, The Manners and Customs of Polite Society by Maud C. Cooke
In one season under Walter, season-ticket price increases rankled Lakers fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Finishing fourth was not a failure but it will have rankled with perfectionist Emery.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
While Raymond was said to be conscientious and loyal to close associates, he commanded a mixture of respect and fear, and his demeanor occasionally rankled fellow employees, competitors and outsiders such as Wall Street analysts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
But rejections issued to companies by Vinay Prasad, the former head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, rankled the industry.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
I suddenly felt very guarded, but his silence also rankled me.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
AI companies are rationing their offerings and products, rankling users—a warning sign for a boom that depends on rapid adoption.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
The military warning—first reported in the Washington Post, then confirmed in the New York Times—must be particularly rankling.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2026
Bobo’s only misstep other than calling In-N-Out “overrated,” rankling fans of the wildly popular burger chain, came in the season opener.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2022
Further rankling Virginia Tech supporters was Virginia winning its fourth in a row on the same day to get back in contention in the Coastal Division.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 26, 2021
When he did find some time to visit me, he was very preoccupied, and I could feel him rankling with anger and with inactivity, but he tried hard to hide it.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
