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

The common threads are authors being riled at adaptations that do not — in their view — closely honor the source material, or feel like their views are not being taken into account. —James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 14 Apr. 2026

Other times, the likes of junior safety Kyle Hall has gotten the defense riled up after batting down a ball that was basically in Wagner’s hands. —Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 9 Apr. 2026

Activists are riled up over the food delivery robots traversing the city, operated by the delivery companies Coco and Serve Robotics. —Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026

However, be patient with partners, spouses and close friends, because Mars opposite your sign can rile you up a bit. —Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 7 Apr. 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