Crossword Genius

Arming the riotous is a horrifying experience (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nightmare

'a horrifying experience' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'arming the riotous' is the wordplay.
'riotous' is an anagram indicator.
'arming'+'the'='armingthe'
'armingthe' is an anagram of 'NIGHTMARE'.

'is' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for nightmare that I've seen before include "Scary nocturnal fantasy" , "Very unpleasant experience" , "Frightening nocturnal fantasy" , "that might upset the rest" , "It makes one restless" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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