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
The announcement comes as higher education has been roiled by a litany of policy changes related to foreign students.
—
Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
Trump has raged against the Fed and Powell, specifically, for declining to cut interest rates this year as the president’s trade agenda roils global markets.
—Sylvan Lane, The Hill, 22 May 2025
The story dwarfed all domestic news in the country at the time, including a number of corruption scandals then roiling President Yoon’s People Power Party.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025
The disparate responses from voters in all three countries -- and the lack of any decisive victory for any one party or candidate in Portugal or Poland -- hint that the political polarization that has roiled the U.S. over the past decade is a global trend, not merely an American one.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for roil
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Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
Trump has raged against the Fed and Powell, specifically, for declining to cut interest rates this year as the president’s trade agenda roils global markets.
—Sylvan Lane, The Hill, 22 May 2025
The story dwarfed all domestic news in the country at the time, including a number of corruption scandals then roiling President Yoon’s People Power Party.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025
The disparate responses from voters in all three countries -- and the lack of any decisive victory for any one party or candidate in Portugal or Poland -- hint that the political polarization that has roiled the U.S. over the past decade is a global trend, not merely an American one.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 21 May 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 5 Jun. 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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