roils

verb

present tense third-person singular of roil
1
as in churns
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 angers
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of roils Tehran has dug in its heels — to Trump’s frustration — as energy prices rise, the global economy roils and poll numbers on the administration’s handling of the war dip ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections. — Matthew Lee, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026 Tehran has dug in its heels — to Trump’s frustration — as energy prices rise, the global economy roils and poll numbers on the administration's handling of the war dip ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections. — ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026 Producing has always been an uphill climb, and it has been made steeper as the business roils with cutbacks and contraction and the infiltration of AI. — Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026 Voter fraud roils an election The presidential election of 1840 arguably didn’t go very well for either the challenger William Henry Harrison or the incumbent Martin Van Buren. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 July 2026 His statement comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still roils the country’s economy and politics. — Jill Lawless, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026 Mortgage rates have been volatile for the last month as the war in Iran roils the bond market, but lately, home borrowing rates have been on a downward trajectory. — Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026 While an ocean of pain roils under the surface, of course, life continues apace. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2026 The recent wave of quantum listings comes at a tumultuous time for global markets, as conflict in the Middle East roils investor confidence, especially in risky, speculative assets like quantum companies. — Dylan Butts,matthew Chin, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roils
  1. churns
  2. angers
  3. boils
  4. infuriates
  5. swirls
  6. enrages
  7. seethes
  8. spins
Verb
  • Although all of the solar system’s planets with atmospheres have wave-spawning disturbances, only Saturn churns them out looking like polygons, geometric shapes bounded by straight lines.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026
  • For all of Jaws' carnage, nothing churns the gut quite like the death of local boy Alex Kintner, played by Jeffrey Voorhees.
    — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 20 June 2026
Definition of churns
Verb
  • Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party champion Taiwan’s separate identity from China, a position that frequently angers Beijing, which views the island as Chinese territory.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The receptionist angers Kripke and Bert so much that they are picked up by the police — along with Stuart, who had also been arrested.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 31 July 2026
Definition of angers
Verb
  • If the water gets too hot, well, the poor little froggy boils to death.
    — Andrew Webster, The Verge, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The second a Verizon worker mentions adding a screen protector, my blood boils.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of boils
Verb
  • The fact that the district has adopted a neurodiversity policy but also proclaims ABA will remain in place infuriates Pirilä.
    — Beth Hawkins, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Georgia Supreme Court challenger Jen Jordan infuriates Republicans with a new fundraising email.
    — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 15 May 2026
Definition of infuriates
Verb
  • But unlike when Kruger first started producing conceptual art some five decades ago, similar language now swirls all around us more than ever.
    — Amy Verner, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Max Martin, Grande sings of blowing through breakups and make-ups and enduring mounting exhaustion with mass notoriety while the music swirls patiently and frequently angrily underneath.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of swirls
Verb
  • The ghostly character doesn't have a particularly significant role in the story, but is a constant nuisance in the tapestry of Hogwarts with antics that include throwing things, making messes, pulling pranks, and generally causing mischief that enrages caretaker Argus Filch.
    — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 15 June 2026
  • This is exactly the kind of mainstream Christian view that enrages Allie Beth Stuckey.
    — Hillary Rodham Clinton, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
Definition of enrages
Verb
  • The frustration that seethes through the show is often born of the disappointment that a form as quicksilver and astounding as songwriting can be yoked to small-minded and propagandistic ends.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Tom Rhys Harries seethes as Matt Hagen, a pretty boy who loses his looks only to regain them from an experimental procedure that makes a jumble of his psyche.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of seethes
Verb
  • The show spins a fictional intelligence story around the Doolittle Raid of 1942.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
  • As the star spins, the magnetic field coming out of the surface catches that wind and sweeps it up.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of spins

Browse Nearby Words

roiling
roils
roily
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Cite this Entry

“Roils.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roils. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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