rile

/raɪl/

Other forms: riled; riles; riling

To rile someone is to annoy or bother them. For example, a friend might rile you by constantly texting when you're trying to have a conversation with her. You can also rile water, meaning you make it muddy by stirring it up.

The verb rile is derived from roil, and they basically mean the same thing. However, rile is more commonly used to mean "annoy" and roil mostly describes stirred liquid. If you rile up your sister, what you say makes gets her worked up, ready to argue with you. When a kid splashes around in the tub, the water is roiled — but if it gets all over the floor, his parents will be riled.

Definitions of rile

1. verb

   cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
   synonyms: annoy, bother, chafe, devil, get at, get to, gravel, irritate, nark, nettle, rag, vex

   chafe

   feel extreme irritation or anger

   types:

   get, get under one's skin

   irritate

   eat into, fester, fret, gnaw, grate, rankle

   gnaw into; make resentful or angry

   peeve

   cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful

   ruffle

   trouble or vex

   fret

   cause annoyance in

   beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague, provoke

   annoy continually or chronically

   antagonise, antagonize

   provoke the hostility of

   goad, needle

   goad or provoke, as by constant criticism

   bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, rag, torment

   treat cruelly

   haze

   harass by imposing humiliating or painful tasks, as in military institutions

   type of:

   displease

   give displeasure to
2. verb

   make turbid by stirring up the sediments of
   synonyms: roil

   types:

   muddle, puddle

   make into a puddle

   type of:

   agitate, commove, disturb, raise up, shake up, stir up, vex

   change the arrangement or position of