1
as in annoys
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in angers
to make angry
her husband isn't easily riled, but once he is, he stays that way for days
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of riles
City councils and other local boards often decide on sleepy, procedural agendas, but, occasionally, an issue riles citizens to turn out and speak their minds during public comment.
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Cate Charron, IndyStar, 30 Dec. 2025
Tensions were exacerbated by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded sovereignty to Cambodia, which still riles many Thais.
—Aamer Madhani, Fortune, 14 Dec. 2025
Tensions were exacerbated by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded sovereignty to Cambodia, which still riles many Thais.
—Arkansas Online, 13 Dec. 2025
As Eddie is named a suspect in the murders, Jason riles up the town to hunt him down, claiming the Hellfire Club is a cult.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 19 Nov. 2025
Inflammation also riles up the immune system, which can spiral out of control and attack the heart and other organs.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riles
Verb
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One of its two young sibling protagonists, Amber (Bianca Belle), channels her feelings about the recent death of her mother into drawings of creatures born out of her troubled imagination, some of whom enact violence against the classmate who annoys her.—
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There's just one thing about Claire Danes that annoys Matthew Rhys.—
Verb
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What angers me is thinking about what could have been.—
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And nothing angers the Survivor gods more than reality TV hubris.—
Verb
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In other words, alcohol disrupts hydration, irritates the gut, inflames blood vessels, messes with sleep, and forces your liver into metabolic overdrive.—
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Without this process, the air would be colder and drier, which irritates and constricts the airways and can lead to inflammation.—
Verb
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Investigative reporting is bad enough; often what really infuriates him is jokes.—
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Elsewhere, the photo of Cartman is a reference to his reaction of Clyde’s incendiary new podcast that has a right wing theme that infuriates the perpetual instigator.—
Verb
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Feeney’s book features multiple narrators, but relativity is not an idea the series bothers to develop.—
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Now, wages have grown, but inflation bothers people.—
Verb
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While this violation enrages the village’s women, the men who make up the Panchayat (village council) try and fail to cast her out of town.—
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The funniest part to me is that amid this violence — as someone is literally trying to kill him — the thing that enrages Beom-mo the most is when his wife’s top starts to slip down.—
Verb
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In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.—
Verb
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Check the head and base and foot of the bed, peeling back the top sheet to look for evidence on mattress covers, box springs, dust ruffles, and the headboard—and most importantly, the mattress seams and piping because bed bugs like to hide in cracks and crevices.—
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Both can reduce debris or items that attract the boxelder bugs.—
Cite this Entry
“Riles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riles. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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