rankle
ran·kle/ˈɹæŋ.kəl/verb, noun
rankle is spelled R-A-N-K-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (ran·kle). It appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, rankle means “To cause irritation, bitterness or acrimony” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rankle?
| Letters | 6: R-A-N-K-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ran·kle |
| In writing | about once in every 18 million words; the 128,787th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is rankle?
Rankle appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rankle?
- /ˈɹæŋ.kəl/
- [ˈɹæŋ.kl̩]
- /ˈɹeɪ̯ŋ.kəl/
Rankle has 2 syllables, split ran·kle in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-rankle.ogg, En-us-rankle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of rankle
- rankles present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- rankling participle, present
- rankled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rankle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cause irritation, bitterness or acrimony.
My colleague's gratuitous criticism still rankles with me.
- 2
To fester.
a splinter rankles in the flesh
noun
- 1
rareA festering, embittering object or condition, either mental, or a physical sore or ulcer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rankle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | verdrießen, wurmen , eitern |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rankle come from?
From Middle English ranklen, ranclen, from Old French rancler, räoncler, draoncler (“to ulcerate, to form a boil”), from Old French draoncle (“a boil”), from Latin dracunculus (“little serpent”), diminutive of Latin dracō (“serpent, dragon”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).