riled 1 of 2

adjective

as in angry
feeling or showing anger the woman was obviously riled, as she kept throwing things

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

riled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of rile
1
as in annoyed
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 infuriated
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of riled
Adjective
The Aaron Rodgers segment on ESPN got folks on both sides of the Anthony Fauci debate quite riled up on Monday. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Jacobs, at least in the movie, never gets riled or angry or stressed. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Mar. 2026 The more people tell them to pipe down, the more riled up Kizzi and Joe get. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026 They’re aided by a small team of assistants who double as dogsitters when Siwa’s poodle Clyde gets too riled up in the dance studio — he’s been known to nip the ankles of men. — Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
Township officials accused me of a power grab and riled up the local township boards, which came out en masse. — Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026 And while enough baseball (and IL time) has happened since then to dim Mayer’s star considerably, there’s enough promise left in him to get Law riled up about the trade. — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 Offseason inaction on the pitching side already riled folks up, though … and methinks alleviating that angst will require something more adventurous. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 29 July 2026 This riled up the Kremlin, which works to create a perception of total support for Putin among the voting public. — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 17 July 2026 Its reporting angered not only other Arab leaders, sometimes to the point of diplomatic rupture, but also riled Washington. — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026 Water use, electricity costs and more have riled up large portions of the electorate. — Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 24 June 2026 That’s the only explicable reason for Australians to be riled up by comments from a guy most American fans can’t pick out of a lineup, whose most productive season came for a club literally named the Rough Riders. — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026 After New York pulled off a 29-point comeback against the Spurs at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, June 10, riled up fans flocked to the San Antonio team's New York City hotel, where Wembanyama was met with boos and nearly pelted with eggs. — Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 11 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riled
  1. angry
  2. annoyed
  3. infuriated
  4. enraged
  5. bothered
  6. angered
  7. outraged
  8. irritated
Adjective
  • Thrillers like 1990's Hunt for Red October and similar fare make submarine hunting look like the most exciting thing this side of pulling a nose hair out of an angry grizzly bear, but the reality is entirely different.
    — David Szondy August 12, New Atlas, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Many Democrats, especially younger ones, are angry at Israel over Gaza.
    — Andrew Cuomo, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of angry
Verb
  • Gen is annoyed that Joy is still entertaining Luke via texts and video chats.
    — Emma Soren, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Not too much bugs him, but he sometimes is annoyed by his baby sister and doesn’t trust people who put pineapple on their pizza.
    — Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of annoyed
Verb
  • But some one-time backers have been infuriated by his support last month for a law that would prevent the arrest of ultra-Orthodox Jews for avoiding the military draft.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The trade infuriated fans and likely delighted the MLB executives and owners who are thirsty to implement a hard salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement.
    — Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of infuriated
Adjective
  • But the suspect’s sister, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the victim became enraged after noticing a scratch on his motorcycle and stormed up to her brother, blaming him for the damage.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 9 Aug. 2026
  • As Clenney became enraged, Obumseli threw his hands up in defense, and Clenney continued swinging on him, the video showed.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
Definition of enraged
Verb
  • Zoe Saldaña, who also received a tribute, explained why she was bothered by political questions.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Previous reports suggested that Cruise wasn’t all that bothered by Suri’s decision.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of bothered
Verb
  • They were angered by Armenia's agreement to hand over control of several border villages to Azerbaijan and normalize relations with its neighbor after being locked for decades in territorial disputes.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Aug. 2026
  • The two exchanged words, and a Gilman shove angered Walker, who tackled him to the ground.
    — Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of angered
Adjective
  • Some conservatives were outraged online over the project plan, while others urged people to take a more measured approach, noting that the new stations are not about pushing any ideology.
    — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The former Fox host looked outraged at the possibility that people didn’t believe the president.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of outraged
Verb
  • But the idea has irritated California’s billionaire class, and some have left the state in protest or threatened to do so.
    — Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 29 June 2026
  • Hasslers, the researchers found, tended to be people who irritated the study respondents but whom the respondents could not escape.
    — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026
Definition of irritated

Browse Nearby Words

rile
riled
riles
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Riled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riled. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on riled

Nglish: Translation of riled for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All