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
  • But Newsom seems to have found his footing nationally by catering to angry anti-Trump Democrats, his conciliatory remarks in the aftermath of Kirk’s shooting notwithstanding.
    W. James Antle III, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • For example, long wait times, high prices and confusing models have left people angry with the car sales industry.
    Brandon Aversano, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • On a recent morning, sweaty workers unloaded cargo boats by hand, carrying crates of beer, sacks of rice, and bags of flour on their shoulders 100 yards up the muddy riverbank to trucks waiting on the wharf.
    John Otis, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025
  • In 1943, when the Mississippi tore away from its banks and charted a fierce and muddy course across America’s central farmlands, Gerard’s grandfather, Harold Gerard, had already fled the waters once.
    Julia Rendleman, ProPublica, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Can decades of quotidian contentment really hold a candle to the mad blush of first love?
    Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Poetry walks with me each step of my mad thinking.
    Rickey Laurentiis, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Law enforcement uncovered physical, medical, forensic, ballistic and reenactment evidence that contradicted the McNairy County sheriff's account of his wife's 1967 murder.
    ABC News, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2025
  • Ukraine's air defenses shot down 563 drones, one of the Kinzhal missiles, seven ballistic weapons and 18 cruise missiles, the air force said.
    Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Mistaken as the murderer, Mary is stoned and buried alive in a shallow grave by the enraged townspeople.
    Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 20 Aug. 2025
  • An enraged Trump held up the attack as symptomatic of the deteriorating conditions in the capital, vowing to take drastic measures to restore the city to its former glory.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The YouTuber Andrew Callaghan has been documenting off-kilter American politics since before the 2020 election, but the recent interview on his Channel 5 web show with an indignant Hunter Biden caught wide attention.
    Ben Smith, semafor.com, 18 Aug. 2025
  • 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
Adjective
  • Allen leads Bills’ furious comeback After a fast start, the Bills’ offense had extreme difficulty getting things going downfield.
    The Athletic NFL Staff, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • One of the worst losses from any team this season sparked reactions from furious Dodgers fans on social media.
    Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • After workers covered Delray Beach’s LGBTQ+ pride intersection in black paint, outraged city officials agreed Tuesday night to file a petition to challenge the legality of the state’s orders to remove street art.
    Shira Moolten, Miami Herald, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Now outraged viewers are attacking the press for supposedly attempting to bury the story and using the video to push extremist views and propaganda.
    Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 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 12 Sep. 2025.

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