roil

[roil]

verb (used with object)

1. to render (water, wine, etc.) turbid by stirring up sediment.

2. to disturb or disquiet; irritate; vex.

   to be roiled by a delay.

   Synonyms: rile, provoke, exasperate, ruffle, fret, annoy

verb (used without object)

1. to move or proceed turbulently.

roil

/ rɔɪl /

verb

1. (tr) to make (a liquid) cloudy or turbid by stirring up dregs or sediment

2. (intr) (esp of a liquid) to be agitated or disturbed

3. dialect,  (intr) to be noisy or boisterous

4. (tr) another word (now rare) for rile

Other Word Forms

• unroiled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of roil¹

First recorded in 1580–90; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of roil¹

C16: of unknown origin; compare _rile

Example Sentences

There was a great expanse of Russia and Europe, and miles of roiling sea, between her and the place she most longed to be.

Read more on Literature

Mr. Roberts’s actions have roiled Heritage and unsettled many on the right who once respected the foundation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Good on the Supreme Court for agreeing to settle a point that has roiled states since the pandemic: When, exactly, does an election end?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Most of the shaking that we think of as an earthquake is caused by a category of seismic wave known as surface waves, which roil Earth’s crust, taking everything on it for a ride.

Read more on Literature

But the roiling effects of the closure, as well as the data disruptions it brought on, are likely to make it hard to know just how big that bite was.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• muddy 
• rile 
• stir