rile

verb

ˈrī(-ə)l 

riled; riling

transitive verb

1

: to make agitated and angry : upset

Her comments riled the professor.

2

: roil sense 1

Synonyms of rile

• annoy
• irritate
• bother
• persecute
• bug

Choose the Right Synonym for rile

irritate, exasperate, nettle, provoke, rile, peeve mean to excite a feeling of anger or annoyance.

irritate implies an often gradual arousing of angry feelings that may range from mere impatience to rage.

constant nagging that irritated me greatly

exasperate suggests galling annoyance and the arousing of extreme impatience.

his exasperating habit of putting off needed decisions

nettle suggests a sharp but passing annoyance or stinging.

your pompous attitude nettled several people

provoke implies an arousing of strong annoyance that may excite to action.

remarks made solely to provoke her

rile implies inducing an angry or resentful agitation.

the new work schedules riled the employees

peeve suggests arousing fretful often petty or querulous irritation.

a toddler peeved at being refused a cookie

Examples of rile in a Sentence

Her comments riled the professor.

one sure way to rile me is to keep yelling for me

Recent Examples on the Web

Some of that disinformation is put out by the Iranian government, including fake firsthand accounts that attempt to rile up Americans who oppose the war, said Houman Hemmati, who supports the war and left Iran with his Persian Jewish family after the 1979 revolution. —ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026

While two sources say Sarandos was riled to hear about this during a chance encounter with a Penguin executive, a Netflix insider says the Co-CEO never met anyone at the publishing house regarding the book. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026

But Big Ten coaches voted for Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg as their Coach of the Year, so perhaps May’s success has riled some of his peers. —Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026

The product of an online hip-hop ecosystem now built around getting attention through clipfarming social media accounts made to get millennials riled up? —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

variant of roil

First Known Use

1724, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for rile

• aisle
• bile
• chyle
• file
• guile
• heil
• isle
• kyle
• mile
• pile
• smile
• stile

Kids Definition

rile

verb

ˈrī(ə)l 

riled; riling

1

: to make angry

2

: roil sense 1