roiled; roiling; roils
2
: to move turbulently : be in a state of turbulence or agitation
conflicting emotions roiling inside her
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
Recent Examples on the Web
Advertisement The power of social media to foment popular protest is no stranger to Asia, where the internet has been a key driver of popular uprisings that toppled governments in Sri Lanka in 2022 and Bangladesh in 2024, and continue to roil Indonesia today.
—
Charlie Campbell, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
Airbus has maintained its deliveries target throughout the year, even as tariffs have threatened to roil its business.
—Russell Leung, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2025
Of the roiling mass of restless natives, cranky artists and tattered idealists who rose up across the Southland this summer to flip off darkness and call America back to its better angels?
—John Lopez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
According to Szetela, this era of expression has seen authors and publishers — many committed to progressive ideals — choosing to self-censor to appease a moral panic roiling the political left.
—Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for roil
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Charlie Campbell, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
Airbus has maintained its deliveries target throughout the year, even as tariffs have threatened to roil its business.
—Russell Leung, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2025
Of the roiling mass of restless natives, cranky artists and tattered idealists who rose up across the Southland this summer to flip off darkness and call America back to its better angels?
—John Lopez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
According to Szetela, this era of expression has seen authors and publishers — many committed to progressive ideals — choosing to self-censor to appease a moral panic roiling the political left.
—Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for roil
Cite this Entry
“Roil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roil. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
roil
verb
ˈrȯi(ə)l 
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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