1
as in swirling
to be in a state of violent rolling motion
the waters of the gulf tossed and roiled as the hurricane surged toward the shore
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in angering
to make angry
the clerk's brusque refusal of her request roiled her enough to prompt a complaint to his supervisor
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of roiling
Misinformation and roiling regional conflicts have compounded the challenge for authorities, with rangers from the Virunga National Park, Africa’s oldest, being recruited to fight the disease too.
—
semafor.com, 8 June 2026
Canfield, as proven by her work in Stereophonic, is extremely able at playing a character with a pristine, almost porcelain surface and roiling depths.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 June 2026
Scorsese is the highest-profile filmmaker to embrace the technology roiling many of his Hollywood peers and potentially representing a paradigm shift in how the film industry accepts its use.
—Corbin Bolies, Variety, 3 June 2026
Iran tightens its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, slashing ship traffic, roiling global energy markets and fertilizer supplies, and raising fears of rising fuel costs and food shortages far beyond the Gulf.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
At the time, the boy was the youngest person to be fatally shot by a Chicago police officer in years, with the shooting roiling the city, leading to protests, calls for reform and eventually policy changes around when and how police can chase people.
—Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026
In addition to the 13 deaths, the war has cost the United States at least $29 billion and greatly disrupted the global energy supply, roiling economies and driving up gas prices and overall inflation.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 25 May 2026
At the start of the Global Fashion Summit, Federica Marchionni, CEO of Global Fashion Agenda, offered one of the event’s few hints of the geopolitical turmoil roiling the outside world.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 15 May 2026
The issue of antisemitism is also roiling the Green Party, which has passed Labour in the polls, but is now facing numerous scandals involving its candidates posting antisemitic content.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 7 May 2026
semafor.com, 8 June 2026
Canfield, as proven by her work in Stereophonic, is extremely able at playing a character with a pristine, almost porcelain surface and roiling depths.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 June 2026
Scorsese is the highest-profile filmmaker to embrace the technology roiling many of his Hollywood peers and potentially representing a paradigm shift in how the film industry accepts its use.
—Corbin Bolies, Variety, 3 June 2026
Iran tightens its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, slashing ship traffic, roiling global energy markets and fertilizer supplies, and raising fears of rising fuel costs and food shortages far beyond the Gulf.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
At the time, the boy was the youngest person to be fatally shot by a Chicago police officer in years, with the shooting roiling the city, leading to protests, calls for reform and eventually policy changes around when and how police can chase people.
—Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026
In addition to the 13 deaths, the war has cost the United States at least $29 billion and greatly disrupted the global energy supply, roiling economies and driving up gas prices and overall inflation.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 25 May 2026
At the start of the Global Fashion Summit, Federica Marchionni, CEO of Global Fashion Agenda, offered one of the event’s few hints of the geopolitical turmoil roiling the outside world.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 15 May 2026
The issue of antisemitism is also roiling the Green Party, which has passed Labour in the polls, but is now facing numerous scandals involving its candidates posting antisemitic content.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 7 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roiling
Verb
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Listen to the episode or read on below for more on what Sweeney thought about Cassie’s final monologue, the rumors swirling around about drama within the cast, and the pole dancing scene that didn’t make the final cut.—
Rebecca Ford,
Vanity Fair,
9 June 2026
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But recently, rumors started swirling that there was another bomb to drop.—
Julia Terruso,
Time,
8 June 2026
Verb
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In the biblical Tower of Babel story, humans are driven by hubris to try to create a tower tall enough to touch the sky, angering God in the process.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
25 May 2026
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The retailer scaled back Pride displays and rolled back DEI programs, angering its liberal customers.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
20 May 2026
Verb
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Any justice in the community would praise this murderer’s row of craftspeople working on the production design for the period town setting; makeup, especially Pennywise’s horrible face; sound design, for helping to keep the audio terrors churning along; and the costume work.—
William Earl,
Variety,
11 June 2026
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That churning mix of confidence and doubt gives Sir Render a full-bodied dynamism that Navy Blue albums can sometimes lack, moving between moods instead of circling around a single frame of mind.—
Dash Lewis,
Pitchfork,
10 June 2026
Verb
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The money raised is not set to go into the state’s Medi-Cal funding but instead into the general fund, infuriating advocates who note Newsom’s budget maintains rollbacks to health insurance for undocumented immigrants, low-income elderly Californians and other vulnerable populations.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
11 June 2026
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Union Pacific hasn’t commented publicly on the president’s remarks, but risks infuriating the president by denying them privately to investors all the same.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Use kosher salt when seasoning, roasting, brining, pickling, baking, or even just boiling water for your favorite pasta recipe.—
Heather Riske,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 June 2026
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While the water is technically heated to near-boiling temperatures to brew coffee and tea, that’s not always enough to guarantee safety, especially when altitude changes the boiling point.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Southern Living,
7 June 2026
Verb
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Before the agreement was announced, Israeli forces struck in Beirut, enraging Trump, who has publicly expressed his fury with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
15 June 2026
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On the other, this week brings the enraging news that U-Chicago, a school once known for its world-structuring theorists, is partnering with Anthropic to put Claude in every classroom.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
4 June 2026
Verb
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Stars are constant, writhing masses of vast convective bubbles rising to their seething surfaces.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
24 Nov. 2025
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After the gold nuclei crashed, the protons and neutrons within them melted into a seething cloud of quark-gluon plasma.—
Clara Moskowitz,
Scientific American,
15 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The State Attorney’s Office initially only charged Pino with three misdemeanor charges of careless boating causing injury or death, which carry a maximum sentence of 60 days in jail, outraging the victims’ families.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Roiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roiling. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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