roil

verb

ˈrȯi(-ə)l How to pronounce roil (audio)
transitive sense 2 is also
ˈrī(-ə)l How to pronounce roil (audio)
roiled; roiling; roils
Synonyms of roilnext

transitive verb

1
a
: to make turbid by stirring up the sediment or dregs of
b
: to stir up : disturb, disorder
a crisis roiling the stock market
2
: rile sense 1

intransitive verb

: to move turbulently : be in a state of turbulence or agitation
conflicting emotions roiling inside her

Synonyms of roil

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Examples of roil in a Sentence

Financial markets have been roiled by the banking crisis. the waters of the gulf tossed and roiled as the hurricane surged toward the shore
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Abdul el Sayed wasn’t the only progressive Democrat helped by a survey from Wedgewood, the fraudulent pollster that is roiling Michigan’s Senate race. — David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 23 Oct. 2026 The prosecution, a rare Department of Justice criminal case against a former employee, revisits a tangled and peculiar saga that roiled the final weeks of the 2020 race. — Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026 Something is roiling under the surface of Smallwood’s harshness. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026 More than 50,000 people are estimated to have died across Europe’s cities during the brutal heat waves that roiled the continent this summer — making this year’s heat the region’s deadliest on record, according to a new analysis. — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for roil

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of roil was in 1590

Rhymes for roil

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Browse Nearby Words

roi fainéant
roil
roily
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Cite this Entry

“Roil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roil. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

roil

verb
ˈrȯi(ə)l How to pronounce roil (audio)
sense 2 is also ˈrī(ə)l
1
: to make cloudy or muddy by stirring up
roil the water of a brook
2
: to rouse the anger of
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