1
as in angry
feeling or showing anger some visibly riley people were lined up in the customer service department

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in muddy
having visible particles in liquid suspension take care not to stir up the bottom of the stream when you fill the dipper, or your water will be riley

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for riley
Adjective
  • Accept Your Child's Anger When your child has an angry outburst, acknowledge it.
    Miriam Foley, Parents, 11 Mar. 2025
  • During eight tumultuous days in 1988 at the world’s only Deaf university, four students must find a way to lead an angry mob to change the course of history.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Palestinian families who had returned to live among the ruins of the devastated neighborhood during the ceasefire once again fled, piling mattresses and belongings on donkey carts and escaping on muddy roads.
    Daniel Estrin, NPR, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Tidy up all those tight spaces—tub seals, sink drains, car vents—or spiff up a pair of muddy sneakers.
    Ella Field, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Then Sterling did some less effective things and got suspended anyway, so that mad idea was, at least, parked for the time being.
    Amy Lawrence, The Athletic, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Staff Pick: The mad scramble for backyard eggs Naeema Fineley's backyard chicken coop in Georgia.
    Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • This one, made from ballistic nylon, has a zippered entry to a padded laptop compartment, a padded mesh back panel, a key leash, plus pen holders and tons of other organizational features.
    Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2025
  • Russia has been launching waves of ballistic and cruise missiles towards Ukraine on regular basis, and been striking cities, energy infrastructure and civilian targets weekly.
    Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Launching into her response, Willians soon became indignant, then emotional as her answer veered into a discussion of Morrissey and the judge who deemed a guardian necessary.
    Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Tendrils of hypocrisy appear in 2025 over baseball’s continuing ban of Rose as sports leagues including MLB climb into bed with betting sportsbooks and reap millions from them, while simultaneously acting all aghast and indignant that a player of theirs might dip a toe in gambling.
    Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Despite a furious rally in the last 17 minutes of the second half, the Terps (25-8) were left out of the Big Ten Tournament final for the third time, joining close calls in 2015 and 2016 when those squads were both bounced by Michigan State — 62-58 in 2015 and 64-61 in 2016.
    Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 15 Mar. 2025
  • The Tigers finally got some momentum and cut the lead to two with a furious rally and had a chance to take the lead after Louisville was called for a shot clock violation.
    Ryan Morik, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Riley.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riley. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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