as in angry
feeling or showing anger
the woman was obviously riled, as she kept throwing things
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in annoyed
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in infuriated
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
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Recent Examples of riled
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Mar. 2026
The more people tell them to pipe down, the more riled up Kizzi and Joe get.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
They’re aided by a small team of assistants who double as dogsitters when Siwa’s poodle Clyde gets too riled up in the dance studio — he’s been known to nip the ankles of men.
—Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 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
Boldy returned to action with the second line for the second period — drawing a roar from the crowd that was riled up about the officiating throughout the first period — and assisted on a goal that tied it at 2.
—CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
Stuttgart’s Chris Führich had riled the home team with the opener in the 21st minute, but Bayern’s Raphaël Guerreiro, Nicolas Jackson and Alphonso Davies replied by scoring in a six-minute spell in the first half.
—ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026
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
While two sources say Sarandos was riled to hear about this during a chance encounter with a Penguin executive, a Netflix insider says the Co-CEO never met anyone at the publishing house regarding the book.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
Jacobs, at least in the movie, never gets riled or angry or stressed.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Mar. 2026
The more people tell them to pipe down, the more riled up Kizzi and Joe get.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
They’re aided by a small team of assistants who double as dogsitters when Siwa’s poodle Clyde gets too riled up in the dance studio — he’s been known to nip the ankles of men.
—Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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
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
Boldy returned to action with the second line for the second period — drawing a roar from the crowd that was riled up about the officiating throughout the first period — and assisted on a goal that tied it at 2.
—CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
Stuttgart’s Chris Führich had riled the home team with the opener in the 21st minute, but Bayern’s Raphaël Guerreiro, Nicolas Jackson and Alphonso Davies replied by scoring in a six-minute spell in the first half.
—ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026
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
While two sources say Sarandos was riled to hear about this during a chance encounter with a Penguin executive, a Netflix insider says the Co-CEO never met anyone at the publishing house regarding the book.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riled
Adjective
-
Linda Hyde, a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards member since 2014, boarded her Southwest flight on May 21 at Miami International Airport humiliated and angry.—
Ella Moore
Updated May 29,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
-
Elder’s sculpture was sitting outside of Bee Hive KC over Memorial Day Weekend when a man who was visibly angry allegedly began vandalizing the honeybee, according to Elder.—
Jenna Ebbers,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Ever been annoyed after Windows setup that your user folder has a weird name?—
Jon Martindale,
PC Magazine,
28 May 2026
-
When people get their interest rate wrong, they get annoyed.—
Sam Sammane,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
Christine Russo, sister of The Crash victim Dominic Russo, is infuriated the Netflix documentary has brought fame to her brother's killer, Mackenzie Shirilla.—
Kathleen Perricone,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 May 2026
-
The British capitulation infuriated many colonists.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
Throughout our conversation, Rosenbaum frequently cited examples in which obvious AI errors left him enraged and literally cursing at the machine.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
22 May 2026
-
At Williams’ trial, authorities said Williams was a jealous lover and often became enraged.—
Rick Hurd,
Mercury News,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Even as Dylan maneuvers weightier situations like romantic rejection, or the uncertainty of a new leadership position, or feeling bothered that a promising student decides to turn her back on poetry, the actress brings a sense of humanity while embracing her character’s flaws.—
Candice Frederick,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
-
Gilgeous-Alexander, smothered and bothered, was a minus-13 in the period.—
William Guillory,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
Azmoun was dropped from coach Amir Ghalenoei’s squad in March, reportedly because of a social media post that angered Iranian authorities during the ongoing war with the United States and Israel.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
-
Atletico were angered by Barcelona’s long pursuit of Antoine Griezmann, which saw Griezmann decide to stay in summer 2018 but move to the Camp Nou twelve months later.—
Ali Rampling,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
The hearing officers who had filed the whistleblower complaints grew outraged.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
-
Ball State’s president said Swierc’s post resulted in a flood of outraged phone calls and emails to the university.—
Russ Bynum,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
It is expected that Mourinho will try to tighten control over leaks concerning internal dressing-room matters, something that has irritated the club this season — and which Alonso sought to tackle.—
Guillermo Rai,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
-
Even though the calf irritated him over the weekend, the ankle is still the primary problem.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Riled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riled. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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