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rankle

ran·kle
R r

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [rang-kuh l]
    • /ˈræŋ kəl/
    • /ˈræŋ.kl̩/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [rang-kuh l]
    • /ˈræŋ kəl/

Definitions of rankle word

  • verb without object rankle (of unpleasant feelings, experiences, etc.) to continue to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment within the mind; fester; be painful. 1
  • verb with object rankle to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment in: His colleague's harsh criticism rankled him for days. 1
  • intransitive verb rankle cause irritation, resentment 1
  • intransitive verb rankle cause resentment 1
  • verb rankle If an event or situation rankles, it makes you feel angry or bitter afterwards, because you think it was unfair or wrong. 0
  • verb rankle to cause severe and continuous irritation, anger, or bitterness; fester 0

Information block about the term

Origin of rankle

First appearance:

before 1250
One of the 11% oldest English words
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; see dragon, carbuncle

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Rankle

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

rankle popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 69% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

rankle usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for rankle

verb rankle

  • anger — Anger is the strong emotion that you feel when you think that someone has behaved in an unfair, cruel, or unacceptable way.
  • blistered — a thin vesicle on the skin, containing watery matter or serum, as from a burn or other injury.
  • boil over — When a liquid that is being heated boils over, it rises and flows over the edge of the container.
  • break down — If a machine or a vehicle breaks down, it stops working.
  • burn up — If something burns up or if fire burns it up, it is completely destroyed by fire or strong heat.

Top questions with rankle

  • what does rankle mean?

See also

Matching words

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