riled 1 of 2

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

riled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of rile
1
2

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
Adjective
  • But some of it is about the cultural change that people argue about, on their phones, with the other angry people that their algorithm has found for them.
    David Weigel, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Pretendian hunters tend to be painted as aggressive or angry, which ultimately serves to undermine their claims.
    Tommy Orange, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • That was Gardner’s first game with the Colts after being acquired from the New York Jets, and while Indy pulled out the OT victory, Gardner was still annoyed by some of the social media chatter afterward.
    James Boyd, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Millard was either won over by Makowsky’s passion or annoyed into agreement by his persistence.
    Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • But for the medieval and classics scholar in Kratz, the film invited questions and infuriated him at times.
    Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Under its previous operator, Mountain View had been plagued by riots that drew negative press and infuriated locals.
    Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Imagine the ripe smell of swamp-wet dogs, the acrid stench of overheated, enraged bear, the slippery warm blood of pack members already lost; the simply insufferable noise and confusion in that dank little hole.
    Paul Schullery, Outdoor Life, 13 Aug. 2026
  • As a consequence, Nadia’s enraged sponsors send her packing back to Europe.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Somewhere right now, a nurse is scoring a newborn out of ten because Virginia saw over breakfast something nobody else had bothered to address.
    Stacy L. Hambleton, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • What bothered me most was that the effects always lasted longer than the fun did.
    Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • That will make affordable tickets more difficult to find, especially as the tournament reports registering record-breaking visits, and already has angered fans and some players.
    Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
  • That angered Michigan Democrats who were frustrated with El-Sayed, and brought Jeffries and other Democrats into the fray, putting the candidate El-Sayed had invested the most in on the defensive.
    David Weigel, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Two families are outraged after a pair of speeding muscle cars kill two Victorville teen girls.
    Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • While federal officials did not plan to build a wall through the park, public lands advocates were outraged when contractors began bulldozing access roads through the area in early to mid-August.
    Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The comments irritated Ilicali, who took to social media in response.
    Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Riled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riled. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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