rile

verb

ˈrī(-ə)l 

riled; riling

transitive verb

1

: to make agitated and angry : upset

2

: roil sense 1

Synonyms

• annoy
• irritate
• bother
• persecute
• bug

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

Now, President Trump’s drive for mass deportations of migrants is riling the streets of Los Angeles, college campuses, even churches — and fueling a global rethinking about the virtues and promise of coming to America. —Laurie Kellman, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2025

In this case, the AI Overview error could rile up Airbus, which probably doesn't want to be mentioned at all in this context. —ArsTechnica, 12 June 2025

Nothing riles him up like losing to China and looking like a chump, especially since he's already publicly committed to being the first to get to Mars. —Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025

Further Reading What to know about the Group of Seven summit in Canada that Trump will attend (Associated Press) G7 summit opens in Canada with a focus on trade, wars — and not riling Trump (ABC News) As G7 leaders meet, allies ask: Is Trump with us or against us? —Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 16 June 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