riling 1 of 2

adjective

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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
The proposal, which is currently out to public consultation, appears to be riling everyone from ordinary pub-goers to residents of 10 Downing Street. — Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riling
  1. annoying
  2. bothering
  3. angering
  4. irritating
  5. bugging
  6. infuriating
  7. frustrating
  8. persecuting
Adjective
  • Dimes Square has like an annoying stereotype — people are kind of like, uh, jeans and a tank top.
    — Zach Schiffman, Curbed, 21 Aug. 2026
  • When Mel arrives, all hell breaks loose, but at least the perpetually charming Fisher is up for the task of playing someone who is both completely annoying and totally winning.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of annoying
Verb
  • Some interns hesitate to contact their former colleagues for fear of bothering them, but most people are eager to help out young talent.
    — Sophie Caldwell, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Contreras rarely takes days off but asked for a day off Sunday with his leg bothering him.
    — Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of bothering
Verb
  • Still, in a great credit to their organization, the Kansas City Chiefs stuck by him while others may have immediately cut him to avoid angering the sports media mob.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • On the second day of the Test, Woodfull was hit over the heart by Larwood, angering the 50,000-strong partisan crowd.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of angering
Adjective
  • The larger battery gives it the sort of range that makes an EV genuinely useful for long-distance driving, while the interior avoids some of the irritating touchscreen-heavy trends found elsewhere.
    — Matthew MacConnell, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Sabalenka double-faulted on match point, her seventh double fault of the day, to put an exclamation point on an irritating evening.
    — Lukas Weese, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of irritating
Verb
  • However, in-flight cabin etiquette is only one part of what’s bugging travelers this summer.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The necessity of the trip at all is what's been bugging me.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 12 June 2026
Definition of bugging
Verb
  • There are a variety of reasons for this — from reasonable to infuriating — why those who paid higher prices won’t be getting refunds.
    — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • These are eight facts about women in medical research that are downright insane, infuriating and, in some cases, just unbelievable.
    — Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of infuriating
Adjective
  • McCaskill said the frequent outages are frustrating, especially during the high temperatures this summer.
    — Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Since then, a tarp has covered the area where the letters were once installed, frustrating those who sought to the remove the president's name from the building.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 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
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Riling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riling. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of southpaw

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

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

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
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
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All