How to Use rankle in a Sentence

rankle

verb
Definition of ranklenext
Synonyms for ranklenext
  • The joke about her family rankled her.
  • If someone were to describe the B-52’s as an oldies act, would that rankle you?
    — Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2022
  • The scandal still rankles people in the Caracas slum of Petare.
    — Fox News, 8 Apr. 2020
  • While it was meant as high praise, the description rankled him.
    — Kyle Buchanan, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2023
  • Now, though, the attempts to force us all onto the family’s own terms rankle.
    — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 14 Nov. 2022
  • The ad rankled former Obama aides, but none of them went so far as to send Mr. Sanders a cease and desist letter.
    — New York Times, 2 Apr. 2020
  • It’s the other 10% that rankle coaches, players and fans.
    — Michael Lev, The Arizona Republic, 30 Sep. 2021
  • The plan rankled Breed and the Department of Public Health, who say they weren’t consulted in the plan’s creation.
    — Trisha Thadani, SFChronicle.com, 12 Feb. 2020
  • What might rankle Trump and his supporters more is the ranking of Barack Obama ...
    — Cliff Pinckard, cleveland, 1 July 2021
  • Kacey felt the pivot and the influx of new listeners might rankle someone but didn’t care.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2021
  • The competing plans from the aldermen appeared to rankle some of the City Council, with Ald.
    — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 21 Sep. 2022
  • Gantz’s three-day trip to the US capital has rankled some of Netanyahu’s allies.
    — Helen Regan, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024
  • But the losses in the top category are likely to rankle their fans.
    — Paul Grein, Billboard, 6 Feb. 2023
  • But some of the tax breaks have rankled Arizona residents, who say the moves have hurt funding for public schools.
    — Cecilia Kang, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2023
  • As Biden jetted to Japan to meet with world leaders, the faintest hints of compromise rankled the two parties’ most faithful.
    — Tony Romm, Marianna Sotomayor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Tyler Pager, Jeff Stein, Rachel Siegel, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 4 June 2023
  • After a very early non-PK call had rankled the Timbers, a second-half foul in the box set up Valeri to score the equalizer from the spot.
    — oregonlive, 2 Mar. 2020
  • Even before the uproar over Stone, Glassman said, some Trump policies and tweets rankled him and his colleagues.
    — Dan Horn, Cincinnati.com, 19 Feb. 2020
  • The presumption that an out-of-towner was going to swoop in and fix everything rankled.
    — Clare Malone, The New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2023
  • The absence of direct help for renters, such as the 10% annual rebates proposed in Bryant’s bill, rankled some.
    — Robert T. Garrett, Dallas News, 11 July 2023
  • From the minute the trailer dropped, the Austenite gatekeepers were crying sacrilege, and sure, this will rankle lovers of the novel.
    — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 July 2022
  • Your ladyship The number of women India’s 25 high courts is rankling.
    — Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, 7 Nov. 2019
  • This title, bestowed by a group of younger gay men, initially rankled him.
    — Kyle Buchanan, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Shiv's never quite been daddy's little girl, but her lack of open adoration and trust seems to rankle him.
    — Lauren Morgan, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2021
  • The bitter jokiness of the coda may some rankle Wilson purists.
    — Michael Phillips, chicagotribune.com, 20 Nov. 2020
  • In an average year, showing up to work or social events with a cough or throat tickle could rankle your desk mates or friends.
    — Sarah Feldberg, SFChronicle.com, 30 Aug. 2020
  • This trend has rankled some American performers in the past.
    — Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2024
  • An army of individual investors still love to rankle Wall Street pros and short sellers who bet against the stock.
    — Paul R. La Monica, CNN, 16 Feb. 2022
  • His headlong pursuit of celebrity will rankle many people, and even those close to him acknowledge that the idea of it consumed him.
    — David Howard, Popular Mechanics, 30 Aug. 2020
  • And other Australians were rankled by the suggestion that there was something to forgive.
    — Yan Zhuang, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2023
  • The hand-waving rankled some current and former workers.
    — oregonlive, 23 Dec. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rankle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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