rankle

American  

[rang-kuhl] / ˈræŋ kəl /

verb (used without object)

rankled, rankling

1. (of unpleasant feelings, experiences, etc.) to continue to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment within the mind; fester; be painful.

   Synonyms:

   chafe, gall, irritate

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verb (used with object)

rankled, rankling

1. to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment in.

   His colleague's harsh criticism rankled him for days.

   Synonyms:

   chafe, gall, irritate

rankle British  

/ ˈræŋkəl /

verb

1. (intr) to cause severe and continuous irritation, anger, or bitterness; fester

   his failure to win still rankles

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Other Word Forms

• ranklingly adverb
• unrankled adjective

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; dragon, carbuncle

Example Sentences

The legal news website SCOTUSblog has also begun using interim docket as its default nomenclature, rankling some commentators who accused the site of adopting a term that plays down the real-world repercussions of interim orders.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the lack of progress on the issue has started to rankle the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union for officers below the rank of lieutenant.

From Los Angeles Times

So what is happening behind the scenes that has rankled with the Italian to the point he felt it necessary to go public?

From BBC

And that dominion over the means of app distribution rankles other tech heavyweights who are trying to find ways to control their own destiny, including Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman and Elon Musk.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was the public support and undeserved prestige that rankled.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• anger
• bother
• embitter
• exasperate
• gall
• harass
• hurt
• inflame
• irk
• rile
• torment
• vex