rile
[ rahyl ]
/ raɪl /
verb (used with object), riled, ril·ing. Chiefly Northern and North Midland U.S.
to irritate or vex.
to roil (water or the like).
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RELATED WORDS
annoy, disturb, roil, exasperate, peeve, bother, vex, inflame, irk, irritate, gall, provoke, aggravate, acerbate, nettle, pique, grate, bug
Nearby words
- rijswijk,
- rikers island,
- rikishi,
- riksdag,
- riksmål,
- riley,
- riley, fort,
- riley, james whitcomb,
- riley-day syndrome,
- rilievo
Origin of rile
First recorded in 1815–25; variant of roil
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for rile
rile
/ (raɪl) /
verb (tr)
to annoy or anger; irritate
US and Canadian to stir up or agitate (water, etc); roil or make turbid
Word Origin for rile
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
rile
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper