riling 1 of 2

adjective

as in annoying
causing annoyance a riling habit that drives his wife crazy

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

riling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of rile
1
as in bothering
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in angering
to make angry her husband isn't easily riled, but once he is, he stays that way for days

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of riling
Adjective
The only thing more riling than a referee’s interference in a sports event is a politician’s. — Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026
Verb
Mbappé, who scored on a penalty in the 70th minute, was riling up the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia following France’s 1-0 victory in the Round of 16. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026 Sediment in the water is an issue that is riling up both residents and environmentalists. — Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 28 June 2026 McCarty said, riling up the crowd. — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2026 Isaacman made the comments while endorsing a proposal to halve NASA's science budget, riling some astronomers. — CBS News, 4 May 2026 Some clips showed owls and ravens attacking the couple, especially riling up fans. — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026 His players were shown footage of the tackle, calculatedly riling up their ire for next week. — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 1 May 2026 Despite losing to Georgia in the conference championship game, DeBoer's Crimson Tide earned one of this year's 12 CFP spots, potentially riling up coaches and fans from other programs who felt their teams got snubbed. — Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025 Officials like Bongino are in the awkward position of backtracking after years of highlighting the case and lobbying for the release of information from the sidelines — riling up their viewers and supporters in the process. — Emily Brooks, The Hill, 8 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riling
  1. annoying
  2. bothering
  3. angering
  4. irritating
  5. bugging
  6. infuriating
  7. frustrating
  8. persecuting
Adjective
  • This is a realm of exposition-heavy opening credits, relentlessly earwormy theme tunes, and heroes who, for no obvious reason, choose to hang out with cute/annoying [delete as appropriate] comedy sidekicks like Orko and Snarf.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 5 July 2026
  • This would have evoked annoying memories of the 0-0 draw against Morocco in 2022 and 1-1 draw with Russia in 2018 for Spain.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of annoying
Verb
  • Travis was snapped having a blast bothering Jason as the duo attended a match between Jupiter Links GC and The Bay Golf Club at SoFi Center on March 3.
    — Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026
  • For now, the Royals hope to figure out exactly what’s bothering him.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026
Definition of bothering
Verb
  • Leaders of the Maine Democratic Party are still working toward a process to replace Graham Platner, without angering his supporters.
    — Dan Merica, Washington Post, 9 July 2026
  • The mayor floated the idea to place Williams on probation for six months, angering the city manager’s supporters in the crowd.
    — Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026
Definition of angering
Adjective
  • Few workplace behaviors are as small, common and irritating as the message that goes unanswered.
    — Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Greenberg tried his best to ignore an irritating ankle injury that had plagued him the last couple of weeks and grimaced under the hazy sunlight as the pitcher, probably 20 or more years his junior, stared him down.
    — Christopher Buchanan, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026
Definition of irritating
Verb
  • The necessity of the trip at all is what's been bugging me.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 12 June 2026
  • 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
Definition of bugging
Verb
  • The result can be a more consistent connection, fewer interruptions and less of that infuriating mid-episode quality drop.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
  • Adding secondary maturations into the bourbon lineup is likely going to divide longtime Four Roses fans, delighting some and infuriating others.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 23 June 2026
Definition of infuriating
Adjective
  • Conversely, there are moments throughout Pompeii where the trail goes cold due to insufficient documentation from 2,000 years ago, frustrating Hiddleston in the process.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 July 2026
  • The recent weakness has been frustrating given the company's strong fundamentals.
    — Kevin Stankiewicz,Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 16 July 2026
Definition of frustrating
Verb
  • Biden weaponized Law Enforcement against his political opponent, while also persecuting many other innocent people.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 11 June 2026
  • Jack Hayford, the founder of the King’s University, in Texas, claimed that the film was persecuting Christians, who only wanted to be treated equally.
    — Isaac Butler, New Yorker, 30 May 2026
Definition of persecuting

Browse Nearby Words

riley
riling
rill
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Cite this Entry

“Riling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riling. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of riling for Spanish Speakers

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