Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To cause persistent irritation or resentment.
- v. To become sore or inflamed; fester.
- v. To embitter; irritate.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To operate rankly or with painful effect; cause inflammation or irritation; produce a festering wound: used of either physical or mental influences.
- To continue or grow rank or strong; continue to be painful or irritating; remain in an inflamed or ulcerous condition; fester, as a physical or mental wound or sore.
- To irritate; inflame; cause to fester.
- To corrode.
Wiktionary
- v. transitive, intransitive To cause irritation or deep bitterness.
- v. intransitive To fester.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To become, or be, rank; to grow rank or strong; to be inflamed; to fester; -- used literally and figuratively.
- v. To produce a festering or inflamed effect; to cause a sore; -- used literally and figuratively
- v. rare To cause to fester; to make sore; to inflame.
WordNet 3.0
- v. gnaw into; make resentful or angry
Etymologies
- First attested in 1320. From Old French rancler, draoncler ("to ulcerate, to form a boil"), from draoncle ("a boil"), from Latin dracunculus ("little serpent"), diminutive of dracō ("serpent, dragon"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English ranclen, from Old French rancler, alteration of draoncler, from draoncle, festering sore, from Latin dracunculus, diminutive of dracō, dracōn-, serpent; see dragon. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“It was some days since I had seen Philip; but, weakly enough, I let the memory of that word rankle still.”
“Lest that designation rankle supporters of 21-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, whose statistical output at the top of the NHL scoring table is one point better than Ovechkin's (both trail the Penguins 'Evgeni Malkin, another 22-year-old prodigy), the point still holds: In a rink where the wall in the home dressing room reads "from failing hands we throw the torch," the league's standard has been handed to a new generation.”
“Spain are in no need of compliments but it was still a tribute to them that England's prolonged defending did not rankle with the fans.”
The Guardian: Fabio Capello relishes the contribution of England's future stars
“This strange division of labour could be irksome, as both men sometimes found, but they did not let it rankle.”
“Ratner, now 42, is almost as famous for his parties as he is for his career, another thing that seems to rankle his critics, but he insists he only ever wanted to be a film-maker; the money and women merely accompanied the success.”
The Guardian: Brett Ratner: 'If it wasn't for Eddie Murphy, Rush Hour wouldn't exist'
“Deals like the one he got rankle Californians at a time when the state's public employee pension plans are "dangerously underfunded, the result of overly generous benefit promises, wishful thinking and an unwillingness to plan prudently," a government-appointed panel of experts, the Little Hoover Commission, warned last month.”
The Washington Post: State and local workers: Gone but not off the books
“If true, that suggests a convenient contrivance so that Pakistan could avoid ownership of an operation certain to rankle with the notoriously anti-American public.”
The Guardian: 40 minutes of fighting, and then two fatal shots
“For agnostics like me, this is the good news -- however it may rankle true believers.”
“The loss of Oscar must still rankle discerning moviegoers.”
5 Best Picture Winners That Didn’t Deserve The Oscar (And What Did) | Fandomania
“Guys like that rankle my fur like few other things”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘rankle’.
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
-
Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
-
Pickle and such
Words that end like pickle. Listed here because they're funny (because they end like pickle).
pickle, sparkle, yokel, tinkle, fickle, prickle, trickle, circle, snorkel, ensnorkel, chuckle, buckle and 137 more...
-
Figuratively
Words with definitions containing "figuratively."
spore, plunge, fulminate, rasp, hinge, niche, breathe, approach, hammer, rain, butcher, dazzle and 132 more...
-
Literally
Words with definitions that contain the word "literally."
Biblicist, cy pres, literally, lit., loan translation, metaphrase, polite, Embarrass, repentance, rabbi, sparkle, article and 30 more...
-
big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
-
gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1847 more...
-
MiaLuthien's list ♥
gambit, prehensile, coquetry, impunity, genuflect, ensconce, clavicle, delude, beget, castigate, life caching, convoluted and 478 more...
-
Words
teeter, headlong, reprobate, canard, ersatz, prevaricate, trenchant, minatory, fatuous, stultify, vitiate, fulminate and 135 more...
-
Wrongheads
Insults that make me laugh. Some of these are re-contextualized because they sound like insults to me.
wretched, dasdardly, sniveling, dingbat, rankle, vapid, ninny, nincompoop, dolt, imbecile, fucktard, scoundrel and 173 more...
-
Words I'd Like to Use Someday
thundersnow, phantasmagoria, mercurial, chimerical, taciturn, paraclete, lapis lazuli, flay, guttersnipe, wonky, misanthrope, kestrel and 583 more...
-
other lookups
-
NTDW1
template, modal, sublingual, tandem, polycentric, septuagenarian, token, irrevocable, denotive, augural, aberrant, phlebotomy and 1188 more...
-
soph2's Words
serendipity, audacity, groak, petrichor, lethologica, loganamnosis, agnuopia, dysania, dysphagia, neologism, incredulity, harbinger and 246 more...
-
SAT PSAT ALPHABETICAL R
rabid, raconteur, rail, rambunctious, ramification, rampant, rancor, rancorous, range, rankle, ransack, rapacious and 112 more...
-
My List
A list of words that I have generated over time.
cairn, cacodaemoniacal, abash, abject, abjure, abstemious, abhor, abnegate, abnegation, abscond, abstruse, acclivity and 702 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for rankle.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.