Synonyms of galling

galling 1 of 2

adjective

ˈgȯ-liŋ 

1

as in frustrating

causing annoyance

her holier-than-thou attitude is galling

Synonyms & Similar Words

• frustrating
• annoying
• irritating
• disturbing
• aggravating
• maddening
• exasperating
• irksome
• vexing
• painful
• bothersome
• abrasive
• vexatious
• pestiferous
• nettlesome
• pesky
• rankling
• pestilential
• chafing
• nettling
• plaguy
• rebarbative
• infuriating
• carking
• peeving
• troubling
• plaguey
• riling
• distractive
• pesty
• biting
• pestilent
• distressing
• disquieting
• burdensome
• discomforting
• troublesome
• importunate
• displeasing
• stressful
• upsetting
• offensive
• tiresome
• enraging
• mischievous
• worrisome
• angering
• trying
• importune
• inconveniencing
• jarring
• grating
• brattish
• thorny
• spiny
• bratty
• jangling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• delightful
• pleasing

2

as in painful

hard to accept or bear especially emotionally

losing in the last round of play-offs was galling to our home team

Synonyms & Similar Words

• painful
• harsh
• cruel
• torturous
• bitter
• agonizing
• terrible
• excruciating
• horrible
• hurtful
• severe
• grievous
• harrowing
• unacceptable
• awful
• afflicting
• unbearable
• tormenting
• heartrending
• dreadful
• intolerable
• appalling
• insufferable
• insupportable
• bad
• unendurable
• vile
• miserable
• dire
• extreme
• ghastly
• intense
• acute
• wretched
• rotten
• nasty
• unsupportable
• piercing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• gratifying
• pleasing
• sweet
• tolerable
• bearable
• endurable
• sustainable
• supportable
• acceptable
• reasonable
• allowable
• survivable
• livable
• sufferable
• liveable

galling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of gall

1

as in eroding

to damage or diminish by continued friction

move that rope so the sharp edge of the hull doesn't gall it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• eroding
• wearing
• fraying
• rubbing
• chafing
• reducing
• fretting
• biting
• abrading
• shaving
• scraping
• rasping
• corrading
• filing
• erasing
• sharpening
• gnawing
• eating
• frazzling
• scouring
• grating
• corroding
• chewing
• scuffing
• grazing
• grinding
• nibbling
• sandblasting
• disintegrating
• sandpapering
• wearing out
• decomposing
• wiping (away)
• dissolving
• honing
• whetting
• rubbing out
• breaking down
• breaking up

2

as in annoying

to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts

humming through your nose like that absolutely galls me

Synonyms & Similar Words

• annoying
• irritating
• bothering
• bugging
• persecuting
• aggravating
• exasperating
• getting
• infuriating
• vexing
• worrying
• griping
• chafing
• nettling
• grating
• angering
• irking
• eating
• itching
• riling
• spiting
• ruffling
• burning (up)
• insulting
• teasing
• narking
• peeving
• rasping
• plaguing
• getting to
• provoking
• piquing
• frosting
• putting out
• wearing on
• hacking (off)
• upsetting
• enraging
• offending
• nagging
• harassing
• sticking in one's craw
• maddening
• distressing
• getting one's goat
• unsettling
• heckling
• hassling
• rankling
• getting on one's nerves
• rubbing the wrong way
• badgering
• setting one's teeth on edge
• rousing
• inflaming
• disquieting
• discomforting
• pestering
• harrying
• agitating
• antagonizing
• perturbing
• baiting
• incensing
• outraging
• fretting
• affronting
• enflaming
• undoing
• roiling
• devilling
• unhinging
• exercising
• deviling
• ballyragging
• bullyragging
• hagriding
• discomposing
• freaking (out)
• miffing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• obliging
• gratifying
• appeasing
• placating
• pleasing
• satisfying
• conciliating
• pacifying
• delighting
• mollifying
• reassuring
• comforting
• assuring
• propitiating
• consoling
• cheering
• soothing
• contenting
• quieting
• gladdening
• solacing

3

as in irritating

to make sore by continued rubbing

tie your shoes so they don't gall your heels sliding on and off like that

Synonyms & Similar Words

• irritating
• scratching
• scraping
• chafing
• excoriating
• fretting
• abrading
• peeling
• grazing
• burning
• inflaming
• skinning
• enflaming
• flaying

Examples of galling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Equally galling is that new protective guidelines weren’t followed in Marcello’s case. —Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 20 Feb. 2024

The first and most galling is the resurfacing of Chris Lowell, one of the jurors who acquitted Durst in the Galveston murder trial and then quickly befriended him. —Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2024

Ellison said this was particularly galling, given that Banken markets his business as helpful to a community that has been shut out of the traditional home purchasing market. —Jessica Lussenhop, ProPublica, 14 May 2024

Most galling, perhaps, is that the Kremlin has been deploying the same drones as Tehran in its assault on Ukrainian cities. —Daryna Mayer, NBC News, 17 Apr. 2024