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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But unexpected allies and converts to the team’s cause appear, too: passengers awaiting a flight to Kabul, an American technology reporter, maybe even that annoying bakery owner.—
Lisa Kennedy,
Variety,
7 Mar. 2025 -
The second week My usual redness around my cheeks had started to fade, and the annoying pimple that had been brewing on my cheek seemed to back off without its usual dramatic entrance.—
Larry Stansbury,
Essence,
7 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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There is nothing more irritating to enthusiasts than when the mainstream tries to portray their niche world and gets it wrong.—
Matt Shaw,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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Most formulas are either too heavy, too drying, or too irritating.—
Tira Urquhart,
Essence,
25 Feb. 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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These findings should be deeply disturbing to Western policymakers, for at least two reasons.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
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The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices is disturbing.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
3 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 12 Mar. 2025.
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