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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For one, Barber and Sweetin co-signed one fan’s take describing the youngest Tanner sibling, Michelle (played by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) as increasingly annoying and borderline spoiled as the series went on.—
John Russell,
People.com,
21 Feb. 2025 -
This is occasionally annoying (or more than occasionally).—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
20 Feb. 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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Surprisingly no one in my family finds this irritating.—
Sherry Kuehl,
Kansas City Star,
19 Feb. 2025
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In layman's terms, retinal works faster and is less irritating than retinol.—
Sarah Han,
Allure,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Most welcomed this move, even if the timing was frustrating.—
Louis Staples,
Rolling Stone,
26 Feb. 2025
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What’s especially frustrating to people involved in ferret conservation is that funding and staff resources were already limited heading into 2025.—
Benji Jones,
Vox,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Warning: The following story elements, including photos and video, may be disturbing to some readers.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA TODAY,
21 Feb. 2025
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The feature take is set amidst the 4th of July celebration, as a disturbing figure named Tommy Taffy emerges.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
19 Feb. 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 Mar. 2025.
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