rile
[rahyl]
- to irritate or vex.
- to roil (water or the like).
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Origin of rile
First recorded in 1815–25; variant of roil
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. irk, annoy, provoke, chafe, nettle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rile
Contemporary Examples
For well over a century, artists have been trying to rile us, making us question ourselves and our society.
Sheikh Hamza, however, refused to join in and rile up the people.
First, to rile up white people about black people and let their lurid imaginations roam.
Michael Tomasky says they can't win the swing vote, so they're going with Plan B: Rile up the base.
In other words, they want more than anything else not to rile up liberals.
Historical Examples
They rile me—that talk about 'people in the humbler walks of life.'
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
An' arter a day or two ye come back an' look agin, an' where's the rile?
Flamsted quarriesMary E. Waller
His p. 156letters in the papers used to rile my people terribly.
The Gypsy's ParsonGeorge Hall
And when you rile up at the rot about "'Arries Abroad," I agree.
Rile some other pool with your clumsy hoofs, and let your betters alone after this!
The Emerald City of OzL. Frank Baum
rile
- to annoy or anger; irritate
- US and Canadian to stir up or agitate (water, etc); roil or make turbid
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Word Origin
C19: variant of roil
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for rile
v.
1825, American English spelling alteration to reflect a dialectal pronunciation of roil (q.v.); cf. heist from hoist and in the same era spile for spoil (v.). Bartlett writes that in both England and America roil "is now commonly pronounced and written rile" ["Dictionary of Americanisms," 1848]. Related: Riled; riling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper