rile

verb

ˈrī(-ə)l 

riled; riling

transitive verb

1

: to make agitated and angry : upset

2

: roil sense 1

Synonyms

• 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

My book has riled up a lot of Christians. —Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025

Jaxson de Ville is riling up supporters via pub crawl. —Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025

Patchwork of strengths, priorities Advocacy organizations have always worked in tandem, but organizers are especially seeking closer collaboration to mobilize more protesters as Trump policies rile more people. —Cate Charron, IndyStar, 17 Oct. 2025

Today, the University recruits students and VIPs (like NFL stars, Olympic athletes, and high-profile alumni) to lead the Two-Bits cheer and rile up the crowd, and it’s always done in the spirit of Florida pride with no ulterior financial motive, as Edmondson himself established. —Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

variant of roil

First Known Use

1624, 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