rankled 1 of 2

as in angered
feeling or showing anger our supervisor was rankled by all the unexpected delays and problems we ran into

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

rankled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of rankle

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rankled
Verb
Some of Niccol's changes have rankled customers and baristas. Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2025 That experience had rankled in my soul ever since. Ben East, Outdoor Life, 28 Aug. 2025 Dobson's unflinching conservatism rankled some Republican leaders at the height of his influence. Jason Derose, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025 Environmental groups, others long oppose SpaceX rocket launches That aggressive approach, though, has rankled environmentalists and others who have criticized SpaceX's operations for potentially decimating regional ecosystems. Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025 Having to spend three hours being poked and prodded and prevented from making phone calls rankled; Diamandis is an incorrigible multitasker. Tad Friend, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025 One part of Harris’ platform particularly rankled Sasse. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2024 This has rankled many in America’s spy community. Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Nov. 2024 The new labor movement has clearly rankled prominent tech figures, Musk among them. Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 15 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rankled
Adjective
  • Soon, the faces of the angered New York City citizens around her soften.
    Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • In one incident, his attorney said, Egyptian forces with machine guns stormed into an apartment where Soliman was asleep with his wife and young child.
    Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Advertisement Advertisement Protesters stormed the Parliament in Kathmandu, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons, and, according to human rights organization Amnesty International, live ammunition.
    Chad de Guzman, Time, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Her son’s middling grades infuriated her.
    Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The announcement infuriated both Democratic and Republican officials in Colorado, which has a booming aerospace industry.
    Kim Chandler, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • As voices across the political spectrum call to lower the temperature following the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, many in the MAGA world are mourning his loss, with some enraged and escalating their rhetoric online.
    Will Steakin, ABC News, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Money floods into affected districts, muffling outrage precisely when constituents are most enraged.
    John J. Donohue, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The one-Michelin-star kitchen highlights Cantonese dishes, from Xing grouper steamed in lotus leaves to a too-pretty-to-eat tofu chrysanthemum flower.
    AFAR Media, AFAR Media, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Instead, green tea leaves are dried and often rolled or steamed to preserve their flavor and aroma before being packaged as loose leaves or in tea bags.
    Jillian Kubala, Health, 26 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Everyone Lee comes into contact with is at minimum annoyed with him most of the time, if not outright hating him.
    Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Keanu, still annoyed from the veto ceremony, talked to Ava Pearl in the HOH room and called Rachel a liar.
    David Wysong, Cincinnati Enquirer, 4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • But Newsom seems to have found his footing nationally by catering to angry anti-Trump Democrats, his conciliatory remarks in the aftermath of Kirk’s shooting notwithstanding.
    W. James Antle III, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • For example, long wait times, high prices and confusing models have left people angry with the car sales industry.
    Brandon Aversano, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • As the controversy raged on, the couple remained boldly unrepentant.
    Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
  • World leaders have pushed for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which has raged for more than three years since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion.
    Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rankled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rankled. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.

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