riley
riley Lexical Profile
riley Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A common surname of Irish and English origin, as well as a popular unisex given name.
"They decided to name their newborn daughter Riley after her maternal great-grandmother."
American A small city in Riley County in northeastern Kansas, United States, located near Fort Riley and Manhattan.
• adjective
North American Stirred up, muddy, or turbid, especially of water or another liquid.
"After the heavy spring rain, the creek water remained too riley for fishing."
North American Agitated, irritated, or angry in temper.
"He grew increasingly riley when the clerk refused to issue a refund."
Word Nuance & Usage
As a common adjective, "riley" (often spelled "rily") is a regional or dialectal variant of "roily," whereas capitalized "Riley" is a common surname and unisex given name (and appears in the idiom "the life of Riley").
• Rhymes for riley
Word Origin & Etymology
As a common adjective, formed from the verb "rile" (a variant of "roil," from Old French "rouiller," meaning to stir up mud) plus the suffix "-y." As a proper name, derived from the Irish surname Ó Raghailligh or Old English place names meaning "rye clearing."