rile

verb

ˈrī(-ə)l 

riled; riling

transitive verb

1

: to make agitated and angry : upset

2

: roil sense 1

Synonyms

• aggravate
• annoy
• bother
• bug
• burn (up)
• chafe
• eat
• exasperate
• frost
• gall
• get
• grate
• gripe
• hack (off)
• irk
• irritate
• itch
• nark [British]
• nettle
• peeve
• persecute
• pique
• put out
• rasp
• ruffle
• spite
• vex

Choose the Right Synonym for rile

irritate, exasperate, nettle, provoke, rile, peeve mean to excite a feeling of anger or annoyance.

irritate implies an often gradual arousing of angry feelings that may range from mere impatience to rage.

constant nagging that irritated me greatly

exasperate suggests galling annoyance and the arousing of extreme impatience.

his exasperating habit of putting off needed decisions

nettle suggests a sharp but passing annoyance or stinging.

your pompous attitude nettled several people

provoke implies an arousing of strong annoyance that may excite to action.

remarks made solely to provoke her

rile implies inducing an angry or resentful agitation.

the new work schedules riled the employees

peeve suggests arousing fretful often petty or querulous irritation.

a toddler peeved at being refused a cookie

Examples of rile in a Sentence

Her comments riled the professor.

one sure way to rile me is to keep yelling for me

Recent Examples on the Web

In Canada, there has already been a movement to buy local as Canadian consumers grow increasingly riled by pronouncements from the President. —Mark Faithfull, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025

Zegler further riled the faithful by comparing the cartoon prince’s pursuit of Snow White to stalking. —Kim Willis, USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2025

The film also riled conservatives such as Senator Jesse Helms and the Rev. Donald Wildmon. —Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2025

And The Brutalist gets an awful lot wrong…Brady Corbet riled the architecture world by playing fast and loose with his interpretation of brutalism, the Bauhaus, postwar immigration and the basic process of architecture itself. —Matt Shaw, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

variant of roil

First Known Use

1624, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for rile

• aisle
• bile
• chyle
• file
• guile
• heil
• isle
• kyle
• mile
• pile
• smile
• stile

Kids Definition

rile

verb

ˈrī(ə)l 

riled; riling

1

: to make angry

2

: roil sense 1