roil
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to make (a liquid) cloudy or turbid by stirring up dregs or sediment
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(intr) (esp of a liquid) to be agitated or disturbed
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dialect (intr) to be noisy or boisterous
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(tr) another word (now rare) for rile
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has roiledperfect 3rd person singular
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have roiledperfect
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have been roilingperfect progressive
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am roilingprogressive 1st person singular
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are roilingprogressive
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is roilingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been roilingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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roilssingular 3rd person
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roilingparticiple
Past
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had roiledperfect
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had been roilingperfect progressive
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was roilingprogressive singular
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roiledsimple
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were roilingprogressive plural
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roiledparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of roil
First recorded in 1580–90; origin uncertain
Explanation
To roil means to stir up or churn. A stormy ocean might roil, or even a restless crowd. The word roil is often confused with rile, which has a slightly different meaning. If you roil someone you're stirring them up but not necessarily annoying them. To rile someone is to deliberately provoke or antagonize them. Usually there's no roiling without riling. Muhammad Ali roiled much of America when he refused to be drafted for the Vietnam War.
Vocabulary lists containing roil
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Other political issues besides war could roil markets.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
Now, however, the counterterrorism director’s role is coming back to light as hostilities roil the Middle East and heighten the risk of attacks in the United States or against American interests or allies overseas.
From Salon • Apr. 22, 2026
Eurozone finance ministers raised expectations for higher prices and lowered them for economic growth this year as the Iran war continues to roil energy markets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Eurozone finance ministers raised expectations for inflation and lowered them for growth this year as the Iran war continues to roil energy markets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
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.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
