1
as in to annoy
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
one sure way to rile me is to keep yelling for me
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to infuriate
to make angry
her husband isn't easily riled, but once he is, he stays that way for days
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of rile
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
See All Example Sentences for rile
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
See All Example Sentences for rile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rile
Verb
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One of the more common ways bear encounters escalate is when an off-leash dog runs toward a bear, annoys it, and then comes sprinting back to its owner with an angry predator in pursuit.—
Amber Harding OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2026
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And get annoyed when people spell it wrong anyway?—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
Verb
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The money raised is not set to go into the state’s Medi-Cal funding but instead into the general fund, infuriating advocates who note Newsom’s budget maintains rollbacks to health insurance for undocumented immigrants, low-income elderly Californians and other vulnerable populations.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
11 June 2026
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Lawyers just can’t stop being caught using AI chatbots, polluting their filings with hallucinated citations that infuriate judges when they’re caught.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
11 June 2026
Verb
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But one snafu irritated a sizable portion of the more than 3,000 students gathered at Arie Crown Theater to hear the astronauts discuss their mission.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2026
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Health officials say the gas can irritate the eyes, nose and throat and may be especially troublesome for people with asthma and other respiratory conditions.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
Verb
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But Schnur said the governor likely also has concerns about angering one of his biggest backers.—
Katie King,
Los Angeles Times,
21 June 2026
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Meanwhile, Daemon, angered that his wife/niece is mad at him for orchestrating the brutal murder of a child, goes to the cursed castle of Harrenhal to claim it for their side — or perhaps to claim it for himself.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
20 June 2026
Verb
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Oh, and more often than not, nobody bothers to check whether the change intervention actually worked, or whether leaders improve their performance after all!—
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
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The chest pain that had been bothering her finally let up.—
Tyler Quattrin,
Twin Cities,
19 June 2026
Verb
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With those remarks, Cucurella is bound to enrage Culers.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
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Before the agreement was announced, Israeli forces struck in Beirut, enraging Trump, who has publicly expressed his fury with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
15 June 2026
Verb
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Biden weaponized Law Enforcement against his political opponent, while also persecuting many other innocent people.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
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It's partially inspired by director Benjamin Christensen's research on the German text Malleus Maleficarum, a guide to witchcraft for inquisitors looking to persecute its perpetrators.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 June 2026
Verb
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The necessity of the trip at all is what's been bugging me.—
Will Greenwald,
PC Magazine,
12 June 2026
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His doctor had been bugging him for years to get a colonoscopy because of his age, but Driggers declined.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rile. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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