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 findings roiled communities of color, and the board was brought forward as one way to help build better relationships between police and residents.
—
Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2024
For the past month, the Toronto festival, one of North America’s largest dedicated to documentaries, has been roiled by staff and funding turmoil.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 24 Apr. 2024
In the neighboring swing state of Arizona, Phoenix has been roiled for the last year by a lawsuit that forced the city to clear its biggest encampment, a shantytown of hundreds of people on the edge of downtown.
—Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024
Protests have roiled many college campuses since Hamas' deadly attack on southern Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages.
—Nick Perry, arkansasonline.com, 23 Apr. 2024
Protests have roiled many college campuses since Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages.
—Nick Perry, Fortune, 22 Apr. 2024
In a social media post from his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, Kraft called for the university to stop the protests that have roiled the campus and led to some tense confrontations between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Jewish students.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
The reaction to the verdict was far different among white Americans, revealing the trench-like racial divisions that were roiling the nation at the time.
—Michelle Garcia, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024
The hack roiled Washington and gave Chinese operatives access to the unclassified email accounts of senior US diplomats, including US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, on the eve of a high-profile visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China last June, CNN has reported.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2024
For the past month, the Toronto festival, one of North America’s largest dedicated to documentaries, has been roiled by staff and funding turmoil.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 24 Apr. 2024
In the neighboring swing state of Arizona, Phoenix has been roiled for the last year by a lawsuit that forced the city to clear its biggest encampment, a shantytown of hundreds of people on the edge of downtown.
—Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024
Protests have roiled many college campuses since Hamas' deadly attack on southern Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages.
—Nick Perry, arkansasonline.com, 23 Apr. 2024
Protests have roiled many college campuses since Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages.
—Nick Perry, Fortune, 22 Apr. 2024
In a social media post from his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, Kraft called for the university to stop the protests that have roiled the campus and led to some tense confrontations between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Jewish students.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
The reaction to the verdict was far different among white Americans, revealing the trench-like racial divisions that were roiling the nation at the time.
—Michelle Garcia, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024
The hack roiled Washington and gave Chinese operatives access to the unclassified email accounts of senior US diplomats, including US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, on the eve of a high-profile visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China last June, CNN has reported.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'roil.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near roil
Cite this Entry
“Roil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roil. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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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