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

McCarty said, riling up the crowd. —Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2026

Even when The Breadwinner starts to tiptoe toward potential reactionary ideas about who belongs in the workplace and who belongs at home, the movie backs off and makes sure that no leaves the theater riled up. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026

Inside it, Daisy has smuggled a letter, which details her plan to raise an army of teenage girls to rile Gilead from the inside. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026

New York — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has a net worth estimated at roughly $200 billion, was recently asked about California’s wealth tax proposal that has some billionaires riled up. —Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 15 May 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