vt to cause to fester; to make sore; to inflame.
2. rankle ·adj to become, or be, rank; to grow rank or strong; to be inflamed; to fester;
used literally and figuratively.
3. rankle ·adj to produce a festering or inflamed effect; to cause a sore;
used literally and figuratively; as, a splinter rankles in the flesh; the words rankled in his bosom.