rile
RYL
/raɪl/
To make someone annoyed or irritated.
Rile is often used as 'rile up'. It suggests disturbing a person's calm state, much like stirring up sediment in water.
The story behind the word. To 'roil' water is to stir up the mud or sediment at the bottom so the water becomes cloudy. 'Rile' is the Americanized version of this, applied to people. When you rile someone, you are 'stirring up' their emotions so they are no longer 'clear' or calm.
Word relationships
- roil: Roil is the more formal version, often used for liquids; rile is the informal version used for people.
- calm: Calm means to make someone peaceful or quiet.
Commonly confused with
- roil: Rile is actually a dialectical variant of roil.
Collocations
- rile up the crowd
- easily riled
- get riled
Example sentences
- "The new tax laws really riled up the local business owners." Describing a reaction to news.
- "It doesn't take much to rile him; he has a very short fuse." Describing a personality trait.
Memory hook
Rile rhymes with 'Wild'. When you rile someone, they get a little wild. Rile: Stirring up the mud.
When not to use
Don't use it in very formal academic writing; 'irritate' or 'provoke' are better choices there.
Fun facts
- The word 'rile' was once considered a 'Yankeeism' by British speakers in the 1800s.
Related words
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