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riot

verb · noun

Simple meaning

A public act of violence by an unruly mob.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ryuht

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹaɪət

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Take part in a riot; disturb the public peace by engaging in a riot

    “Students were rioting everywhere in 1968.”

  2. intransitive

    To create or take part in a riot; to raise an uproar or sedition.

  3. transitive

    To cause to riot; to throw into a tumult.

  4. transitive

    To annoy.

noun

  1. A public act of violence by an unruly mob

  2. A state of disorder involving group violence

  3. A tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by a large group of people, often involving violence or damage to property.

  4. Wanton or unrestrained behavior or emotion.

  5. figurative

    A wide and unconstrained variety.

  6. colloquialuncountable

    A humorous or entertaining event or person.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Take part in a riot; disturb the public peace by engaging in a riot

Used this way, riot is a common word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“Students were rioting everywhere in 1968.”
Emotional tone
Negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Gentle
How common
Common
Connotation
Serious and weighty
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use riot

  • “Students were rioting everywhere in 1968.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

race riotriot actriot policeriot controlrunning riotruns riot

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • riot control operationnounCompound term

    The measures taken to control a riot.

  • riot gunnounCompound term

    A firearm designed to disperse rioters rather than to inflict serious injury or death.

  • riot controlnounCompound term

    The measures taken to control a riot.

  • riot actnounCompound term

    A vigorous reprimand.

  • race riotnounCompound term

    A riot caused by hatred for one another of members of different races in the same community.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.