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
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
The product of an online hip-hop ecosystem now built around getting attention through clipfarming social media accounts made to get millennials riled up?
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 13 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
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
The product of an online hip-hop ecosystem now built around getting attention through clipfarming social media accounts made to get millennials riled up?
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riled
Adjective
-
Perhaps some will find this gentleness frustrating, and interpret it as an apologia for a complacency inappropriate to our angry, angular, activist times.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
15 May 2026
-
That includes Romane Fringeli, playing Enzo’s sister Carla, who is angry that Enzo plans to move their father Anthony (Bastien Bouillon), freshly released from prison, into their apartment.—
Carlos Aguilar,
IndieWire,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
To Henry, this would have been for the greater good of English football, but the reaction was again one of anger and Henry was annoyed that the idea was killed off.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
-
As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the president doesn’t get annoyed with him once or twice.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
What was the song that infuriated the coach?—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
11 May 2026
-
Still, even an unsuccessful appeal would let Democrats try to blame their failure on the conservative majority that dominates the nation's highest court, which has already infuriated the party and civil rights groups by neutering the Voting Rights Act.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
Adjective
-
At Williams’ trial, authorities said Williams was a jealous lover and often became enraged.—
Rick Hurd,
Mercury News,
13 May 2026
-
After the match, an enraged Fatu attacked Reigns and nailed the referee with a pop-up Samoan Drop.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
Shuter is not bothered by such pesky details.—
Dan Adler,
Vanity Fair,
12 May 2026
-
One thing that bothered me in my career as a stylist was the cliché that the inspiration of the show is a certain period, and the designer did not see certain races in the casting.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
Starmer also has angered supporters with attempts to cut welfare spending, some of which were reversed after Labour revolts.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 May 2026
-
Buyers were angered after finding out that the new features would be released later than expected, the filing said.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 May 2026
Adjective
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And yet so many fans and media are some cocktail of shocked and outraged over tickets to a World Cup being high, or the travel cost to get here being a lot, or local hotels and public transportation jacking their prices.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
11 May 2026
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The outraged heckler with his face painted doesn’t represent most sports-watchers.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
Some highbrow writers had a right to be irritated by the concept of chick lit, though that wasn’t the fault of chick lit authors themselves.—
Hillary Busis,
Vanity Fair,
4 May 2026
-
His last-minute, mixmaster approach to closing out the transit negotiations irritated several participants, but the end result was a fiscally responsible and transformative restructuring of mass transit in northern Illinois.—
David Greising,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Riled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riled. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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