rile up
B2 informal separable transitive
In simple words
To make someone really annoyed or worked up — to get them all angry and stirred up.
Meanings
1 B1
idiomatic
informal
To make a person angry, irritated, or upset.
"Stop trying to rile him up — he's already had a hard day."
Grammar: separable
2 B2
idiomatic
informal
To excite or provoke a group of people emotionally, especially a crowd or political base.
"The politician knew exactly how to rile up the crowd with his controversial statements."
"He knows how to rile up a crowd."
— Common description used in US political journalism, e.g. The Washington Post campaign coverage (2016–2020)
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Common in American English. Often used in the passive: 'he got all riled up'. Can describe irritating an individual or stirring up a crowd emotionally, including for political or dramatic effect.
Commonly used with
crowd audience base fans voters emotions
Forms
Base
rile up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
riles up
he/she/it
Past simple
riled up
yesterday
Past participle
riled up
have + pp
-ing form
riling up
continuous
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Synonyms
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