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.
rankles
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present tense formof rankle (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
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.
What rankles more is his only international T20 appearance three weeks later, when Ireland plundered 52 from his four overs.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
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 ● Dec. 5, 2025
Marvin Casey did not get to interrogate John Orr or arrest him or even tag along, which still rankles a little, but Casey did more than anyone to expose Orr’s double life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2025
That rankles Tasmanian Aboriginal people like Nala: "It's just a kick in the guts."
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2024
And the hurt, cruel and immedicable, rankles in the breasts of those women today, as it rankled in the breasts of their mothers of a past long vanished.
From Papers of the American Negro Academy. (The American Negro Academy. Occasional Papers, No. 18-19.) by John W. Cromwell
