Riled Up: What does “Riled Up” Mean? with Useful Examples

Last updated on June 4, 2024 by Liam Daniel

Riled Up! Idioms are figurative language that people use for expression. One of the most popular idioms used during every day conversation is “riled up.” Here you will find the meaning of the phrase, details of its origin and how the phrase is used in real conversation.

Riled Up

Riled Up Meaning

“Riled up” can have two different meanings depending on context. The term can be used to mean someone is annoyed or extremely upset, or it can be used to describe hyperactivity, especially when describing children.

Origin of this idiomatic expression

This idiom dates back to the 1500s to the word roil. In the 1800s the spelling was changed to rile, but both words still meant the same. If you look up the definitions of these words, you will see they mean to annoy someone or to stir something up.

“Riled Up” Examples

Example Statements

In news stories you may see a statement like:

  • “The community has been riled up since the passing of this new law.”

Another example of a statement from a sportscaster during a game:

  • “This crowd is sure riled up after that bad call by the referee.”

Conversation Examples

Here is an example conversation using the term between a mother and father.

  • Father: Honey, I am home. Where are the kids?
  • Mother: They are outside and I am making dinner.
  • Father: Great! I’m going to go surprise them!
  • Mother: Now, don’t go getting them all riled up before dinner.

Here is another example conversation between two friends.

  • Friend 1: Oh my gosh! Mr. Henderson was really angry today.
  • Friend 2: Really?! Why?
  • Friend 1: I don’t know, but something that happened during first period really riled him up!

Other Examples:

  • That class gets me so riled up.
  • Instead of getting all riled up about this, we should try to figure out what to do.
  • The policy has people riled up and ready to take action.
  • Somebody left his magazine on the front porch and it got me all riled up.
  • I got riled up by “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and “The Chomsky Reader”; Heidi read aloud passages from “The Anxiety of Influence“.

Other Ways to Say “Riled Up”

There are numerous ways to say riled up and express the same meaning. Some of these ways are stop annoying me and stop agitating me. In relation to children and hyperactivity, a similar saying would be don’t get them all excited.

List of “Riled Up” synonyms:

  • Get angry
  • Annoy
  • Upset
  • It upsets me
  • Upset about that
  • Mad
  • Angry
  • Annoyed
  • Get overexcited
  • Irritate

What does “Riled Up” Mean? | Image

Riled Up

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