1
as in angry
feeling or showing anger some visibly riley people were lined up in the customer service department

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2
as in muddy
having visible particles in liquid suspension take care not to stir up the bottom of the stream when you fill the dipper, or your water will be riley

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for riley
Adjective
  • Freed of her caring duties, angry and uncertain about her future Karl gets on a Greyhound bus and heads to Las Vegas where Jean is working as a waitress at the El Cortez.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2025
  • The family defended themselves against an angry mob of hundreds of people who surrounded the house, throwing rocks and threatening the family, Duggan said.
    Dana Afana, Freep.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Officials recommend that volunteers wear closed-toe shoes and clothes that can get muddy, the release said.
    Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 31 July 2025
  • Two days before Francisco Rodriguez of Kansas City, Kansas, died on the job, a contractor in charge of marking sewer and water lines expressed concern about muddy conditions making the construction site a potential hazard.
    Matthew Kelly July 30, Kansas City Star, 30 July 2025
Adjective
  • Though it's deemed an accident in the play by Queen Gertrude, Ophelia was considered mad and the possibility of suicide was not ruled out.
    Rachel Raposas, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Instead, this is an ice hockey-style slide-and-bump affair; hitting an opponent from the side simply gives an annoying temporary jolt (which also disrupts their shooting motion) while hitting an opponent head-on forces a loose ball turnover and a mad scramble for the ball.
    Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Russian ballistic and cruise missiles then route around the defenses to strike their targets.
    ERIC SCHMIDT, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Adding in the ballistic and cruise missiles dispatched, which are far more expensive per unit, brings the total price tag of Russia’s 2025 aerial campaign to almost $13.4 billion.
    Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • But Hunter speaks with the indignant passion of someone who made nearly $1.5 million selling his art during his father’s campaign and the early years of his administration.
    Boston Herald editorial staff, Boston Herald, 23 July 2025
  • In a 48-hour whirlwind, President Donald Trump veered from elated to indignant to triumphant as his fragile Israel-Iran ceasefire agreement came together, teetered toward collapse and ultimately coalesced.
    Aamer Madhani, Chicago Tribune, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • And plenty of fans are furious that Childers has embraced studio bells and whistles — there’s vocoder and drum loops on some songs — and is no longer singing exclusively about hardscrabble Appalachian life à la his 2017 debut Purgatory.
    Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2025
  • Taiwan’s progressives, furious at the resulting obstruction, thus gathered enough signatures to vote on recalling roughly a third of the KMT’s legislators.
    LEV NACHMAN, Foreign Affairs, 1 Aug. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Riley.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riley. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

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