roil

American  

[roil] / rɔɪl /

verb (used with object)

• roils,
  present (3rd person singular)
• roiled,
  past participle,  past
• roiling
  present participle

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

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verb (used without object)

• roils,
  present (3rd person singular)
• roiled,
  past participle,  past
• roiling
  present participle

1. to move or proceed turbulently.

roil British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unroiled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• roiling
  present
• roiled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• roil
  simple
• roils
  simple
• have roiled
  perfect
• has roiled
  perfect
• am roiling
  progressive
• are roiling
  progressive
• is roiling
  progressive
• have been roiling
  perfect progressive
• has been roiling
  perfect progressive

Past

• roiled
  simple
• had roiled
  perfect
• was roiling
  progressive
• were roiling
  progressive
• had been roiling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will roil
  simple
• will have roiled
  perfect
• will be roiling
  progressive
• will have been roiling
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

roil roils roiled roiling

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

A jump in gas prices is threatening to roil the U.S. auto industry that has leaned in to gas-powered vehicles and pulled back from electric options.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

Up to 31,000 healthcare professionals in California and Hawaii are involved in the strike, which is the second to roil the medical provider in recent months.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026

Aron was caught in the roil of change too, but his impulses were more sluggish than Cal’s.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

“Either shadow banks will be obliged to accept greater regulation, or sooner or later, one or more of them will get caught in a mess that roils the markets,” Ellis told Barron’s in an email.

From Barron's ● Dec. 5, 2025

Lucas benefits from both Menzies’ natural reserve and his ability to show what roils beneath that stoicism, a game of emotive hide-and-seek.

From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2024

But today, the outflow roils in a pink froth, like a cauldron of Pepto Bismol.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 30, 2023

Yet even as Earth roils through unprecedented heatwaves and animals like river dolphins face extinction, there is still hope that climate change can be at least partially mitigated.

From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2023

Something pretty bad is on its way because with each step Tatica takes, the pain roils in her gut, trouble coming to full term.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Controversy surrounding data center construction has roiled Texas in recent months, fostering a bipartisan coalition of opposition, particularly among rural and suburban residents.

From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026

If the bicentennial roiled with some of the same tensions Americans feel today, it did benefit from a cultural cohesion that no longer exists.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

More ships are crossing the Strait of Hormuz, the key oil crossroads that was mostly blocked for months and roiled global crude markets amid the conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

Tariffs roiled the sector in 2025, and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact is up for review in July.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

A surge of jealousy roiled Anya’s belly—she still didn’t have any magic, water or otherwise—but she managed to smile.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

So today we’re breaking down the controversy roiling what was supposed to be our happy place.

From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026

As she’s gotten older, the Oscar winner has become more comfortable doing less in her performances, allowing for a fragile serenity that is belied by the anguish and anxiety roiling underneath.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

Iran has renewed its warnings over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas transport which it has essentially closed since early in the war, roiling global energy markets.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

“This is a real threat to the whole industry,” said Erik Severinson, Volvo’s chief commercial officer, noting the same dynamics are roiling the European auto market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

She was staring into an endless wall of whirling, whipping, roiling snow.

From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu

Related Words

• muddy
• rile
• stir