riley

adjective

ˈrī-lē How to pronounce riley (audio)
Definition of rileynext
1
as in angry
feeling or showing anger some visibly riley people were lined up in the customer service department

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for riley
  1. angry
  2. muddy
  3. mad
  4. enraged
  5. ballistic
  6. indignant
  7. furious
  8. outraged
Adjective
  • To argue that calling them immigrants is technically wrong is like getting angry at people who don’t pronounce Los Feliz the Spanish way.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Sheriff Rick Ramsay said Monday that the father later told detectives that Lopez was angry that prosecutors didn’t offer him any plea deals, so his son planned to leave the country rather than face conviction.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • If the festival opens, food and beverage service will be limited, the children’s area will not be available and portions of the park may be wet or muddy.
    — Yvonne Zusel, AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Coffee spills, muddy shoes, pet mishaps, and everyday messes don’t have to turn into decorating disasters.
    — Ethan Stone October 9, Idaho Statesman, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of muddy
Adjective
  • The ball popped out of his glove and fell in front of him, creating a bit of a mad scramble for Ramírez.
    — Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Some reports have suggested that Harry knew the contents of the memoir before it was published, which reportedly adds to William’s reasons to be mad at his brother.
    — StyleCaster Editors, StyleCaster, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of mad
Adjective
  • And not just any velociraptor, but the enraged dinosaur that pushed franchise champion Rachel Reilly into a volcano, thereby burning the reality TV icon to a crisp in a sea of lava.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Imagine the ripe smell of swamp-wet dogs, the acrid stench of overheated, enraged bear, the slippery warm blood of pack members already lost; the simply insufferable noise and confusion in that dank little hole.
    — Paul Schullery, Outdoor Life, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of enraged
Adjective
  • Raybould said that money funds the DPRK's nuclear and ballistic weapons programs.
    — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Houthi capabilities The Houthis have learned to combine ballistic and cruise missiles with long-range drones to overwhelm Saudi defenses.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of ballistic
Adjective
  • His tone was reminiscent of the indignant woman in Yamaska who’d unloaded on me while walking her dog.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The same people who were indignant over Hunter Biden have turned a blind eye to the conflicts of interest rife in this administration.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of indignant
Adjective
  • In an early scene, Misty is jolted awake by the man’s furious widow, Celine (Amy Landecker), who has just discovered the apartment on her husband’s ledgers and is intent on kicking out his mistress.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
  • The fourth disc has the Attractions playing these songs live, after the album was out, in increasingly furious fashion.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of furious
Adjective
  • Tall Paul said through an outraged mouthful of banoffee doughnut.
    — Kevin Barry, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026
  • After a concertgoer died in the audience at a Carson music festival on Saturday, an artist is outraged the show continued while the deceased was still on-site.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of outraged
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.

Phrases Containing riley

Browse Nearby Words

riles
riley
riling
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Riley.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riley. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All