rile

[rahyl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rile ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), riled, ril·ing. Chiefly Northern and North Midland U.S.

to irritate or vex.

to roil (water or the like).

Nearby words

Origin of rile

First recorded in 1815–25; variant of roil

SYNONYMS FOR rile

1. irk, annoy, provoke, chafe, nettle.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rile ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for riled

When he was at the U.S. Open and there were so many different matches, or whatever, and he gets the fan so riled up.
Comedy’s R-Rated Queen Amy Schumer Is Raunchier Than Ever|Kevin Fallon|March 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Americans get riled up about creationists and climate change deniers, but lap up the quasi-religious snake oil at Whole Foods.
Whole Foods: America’s Temple of Pseudoscience|Michael Schulson|February 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That last comment crystallizes why the respective fan groups get so riled up when their franchises are pitted against each other.
Will ‘Hunger Games’ Fans and ‘Twilight’ Fans Ever Get Along?|Kevin Fallon|November 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
What was it about Wicked that got critics so riled up a decade ago?
A ‘Wicked’ Decade: How a Critically Trashed Musical Became a Long-Running Smash|Kevin Fallon|October 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST

So what has Kerry done that's riled up both sides of the conflict?
Israelis And Palestinians Blast Kerry For Peace Efforts|Ali Gharib|May 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Why should I get riled because she says that Mrs. Toller is going to take a house for eighty pounds a year?
If Winter Comes|A.S.M. Hutchinson
To be beaten in a battle of wits by a mere boy must have riled Mr. Marsters a whole lot.
The Boy Scouts at the Panama-Pacific Exposition|Howard Payson
"Well, Doc Berry has gone an' riled hisself into 'nuther accident," Wims informed him.
I Was a Teen-Age Secret Weapon|Richard Sabia
The one thing I'm sure of is that she'll laugh in my face—if she isn't too riled!
My Lord Duke|E. W. Hornung
Yourself he tries to get on suspicion and because you riled him on the train like you say.
Dust of the Desert|Robert Welles Ritchie

British Dictionary definitions for riled

rile

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

Word Origin and History for riled

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.