riled

Riled is the past participle of rile, a verb meaning to irritate, provoke, or make someone angry or agitated. It can describe a person who has been provoked (The speaker’s remark riled the audience) or the act of provoking others (The critics riled up the fans with their review). The adjective form “riled” appears in phrases such as “riled up” to emphasize heightened emotion.

Grammatical notes: Rile is a transitive verb that takes a direct object (to rile someone). It is informal or colloquial in tone, with more formal equivalents such as irritate, anger, or provoke. It often appears with adverbial intensification (riled up, deeply riled). Common collocations include “rile up the crowd” and “be riled by.” In passive constructions, one might say, “The crowd was riled by the announcement.”

Etymology and usage history: The origin of rile is uncertain, but the sense to irritate or provoke dates back to at least the 18th century in English. The term is used in both American and British English, though its informal tone is more common in casual speech and contemporary writing. The phrasal form “rile up” is a frequent construction when describing increasing agitation in a group or individual.

See also: irritate, anger, provoke, agitation. Riled is commonly used in journalism and everyday language to convey a shift from calm to upset or stirred-up conditions.