as in annoying
causing annoyance
a riling habit that drives his wife crazy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in bothering
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
one sure way to rile me is to keep yelling for me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in angering
to make angry
her husband isn't easily riled, but once he is, he stays that way for days
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riling
Adjective
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Other non-native ephemerals, such as lesser celandine, are more annoying and more recent arrivals.—
Carl R. Gold,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Mar. 2025 -
Going on a first date while an unnamed, unseen troll pings you personal memes that escalate from annoying to homicidal?—
Charley Ross,
Glamour,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Rodin Cars The big idea behind Rodin is to build cars without bothering about vehicle regulations – in stark contrast to F1 cars, which are subject to several rules around how they're put together.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 Jan. 2025
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The city and state have also been ramping up efforts to engage troubled vagrants sleeping and sometimes bothering straphangers, connecting them with services and shelter and potentially involuntary treatment.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
27 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Around 10 individuals ran onto the court waving Palestinian flags, angering hundreds of attendees from the French Jewish community cheering for the Israeli team.—
Bradford Betz,
Fox News,
19 Dec. 2024
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With some true detective work, Flueger quickly discovers that pigeons are trying to claim squatter rights a bit too close higher up, angering the furry felines.—
Demetrius Patterson,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Going Overboard with Outdoor Lighting Light pollution can be just as irritating as that dog down the street who barks like clockwork for 30 minutes every night.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
29 Mar. 2025
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New York, though, continued to use its newfound abilities to turn defense into offense with the irritating McBride starting in place of Brunson.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Perhaps most frustrating for affected users is the lack of clear, timely communication.—
Alex Vakulov,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
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Arthur Johnson For Johnson, the sudden reversal has been frustrating.—
Eva Tesfaye,
NPR,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Other times, Claude’s mental activity seems super disturbing and maybe even dangerous.—
Steven Levy,
Wired News,
28 Mar. 2025
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Just as disturbing and bizarre, at least one juror originally didn’t want to convict Zeigler at all and didn’t vote to do so until after that same judge ordered the bailiff to give her a Valium.—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The International Monetary Fund cited a number of contributing factors that led to a global cost-of-living crisis in its annual report last year, including the pandemic and climate change, which disrupted food and supply chains, in addition to geopolitical conflict’s aggravating the problems.—
Doha Madani,
NBC News,
18 Dec. 2024
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But he was sidelined with a groin injury late in training camp and apparently returned too soon, aggravating the injury in Week 2 and then being held out until Week 9.—
Phil Rogers,
Forbes,
13 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Riling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riling. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.
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