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
Relevance
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
Arnett’s comic timing is a given, but the actor finds previously unseen depths in the ache roiling underneath.
—
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025
While the issues roiling America today may be more nuanced than slavery, there are still stark contrasts—forces of democracy and authoritarianism that can pretty fairly be described as right and wrong.
—Miguel Sirgado, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Trump has a long history of attacking minorities and roiling racial tensions, both to energize his MAGA base and advance his political agenda.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 30 Sep. 2025
Against the economic and social turmoil roiling the industry and the world at large, the couple has learned to dream pragmatically.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 23 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
Rip Currents Explained Rip currents are a common phenomenon even without a hurricane roiling the distant ocean, says Melissa Moulton, a coastal physical oceanographer at the University of Washington.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 19 Aug. 2025
The landscape around a nearly 3,000-square-mile glacier shifts frequently as roiling magma thrusts the ground upward, and glacial rivers carve canyons into the basalt.
—Robin Catalano, Robb Report, 7 Aug. 2025
Obtained by Newsweek The years-long saga of the Hoyos de Baldrich family has been given new attention amid a roiling national debate over the national organ donor system, which has struggled for years to manage a growing backlog of those in desperate need of transplants.
—Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Aug. 2025
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025
While the issues roiling America today may be more nuanced than slavery, there are still stark contrasts—forces of democracy and authoritarianism that can pretty fairly be described as right and wrong.
—Miguel Sirgado, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Trump has a long history of attacking minorities and roiling racial tensions, both to energize his MAGA base and advance his political agenda.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 30 Sep. 2025
Against the economic and social turmoil roiling the industry and the world at large, the couple has learned to dream pragmatically.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 23 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
Rip Currents Explained Rip currents are a common phenomenon even without a hurricane roiling the distant ocean, says Melissa Moulton, a coastal physical oceanographer at the University of Washington.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 19 Aug. 2025
The landscape around a nearly 3,000-square-mile glacier shifts frequently as roiling magma thrusts the ground upward, and glacial rivers carve canyons into the basalt.
—Robin Catalano, Robb Report, 7 Aug. 2025
Obtained by Newsweek The years-long saga of the Hoyos de Baldrich family has been given new attention amid a roiling national debate over the national organ donor system, which has struggled for years to manage a growing backlog of those in desperate need of transplants.
—Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roiling
Verb
-
Ironically, though, this comes as rumors of a possible feud between them have been swirling.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
10 Oct. 2025
-
In the wake of an $8 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance, which closed in early August, rumors began swirling that Weiss was being courted to take over CBS News.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Following physical and emotional abuse, Lafferty became an anxious child who was constantly afraid of angering adults around her.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
4 Oct. 2025
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The new program, Train SMART, also risks angering a network of grassroots chapters and gun violence prevention volunteers at Everytown.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Mischief in the mind of Cole Martin, the defensive back, moonlighted as a magician and snatched the direct snap before darting through a crease and churning ahead for a trick of a first down.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Get your brain churning and start your morning by testing out your knowledge.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The journey, first to Paris and then through Switzerland and Milan and onwards to Venice, was for the most part pleasant, being blessedly free of many of the wearisome and often infuriating hindrances and misdirections that rail travel usually entails.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Don’t be surprised if this is a hot-hand situation, though, and rather infuriating.—
Jake Ciely,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Instead of gradually boiling into insanity, the film hits fever pitch hallucinations right away and quickly exhausts itself attempting to keep pace.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Designed for boiling water reactor (BWR) units, the new fuel aims to provide plant operators with lower fuel costs per megawatt-hour through enhanced performance and reliability.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As part of these reforms, the Royal Navy impounded dozens of merchant vessels for allegedly evading customs duties, enraging merchants as well as mariners, shipwrights, stevedores, and others in port cities whose livelihoods depended on foreign commerce.—
Time,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
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The film captures every enraging detail of the trial while using it as a jumping off point for an exploration of the history of the region and the ways in which the Chuchagasta have been bureaucratically erased in order to strip them of their property and rights.—
Vulture Staff,
Vulture,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Barkley waltzed into the end zone untouched, and the Eagles continued to leave many football fans seething.—
Saad Yousuf,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Sounders defender Yeimar Andrade, 33, approached and separated Suarez and Vargas, who was laughing and celebrating the victory with his teammate Cody Baker, 21, as a seething Suarez looked on.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Hollywood these days feels really fearful of enflaming conservative ire.—
David Amsden,
Rolling Stone,
7 Oct. 2025
-
The prolonged conflict has forced reservists to serve multiple lengthy tours of duty, while inflaming longstanding resentment of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are exempt from military service.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Roiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roiling. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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