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
Trump's new term comes amid regional political uncertainty The maneuvering is happening as political uncertainty roils not just the U.S., but also the Pacific region.
—
Scott Neuman, NPR, 22 Mar. 2025
President Donald Trump’ s new trade policies have roiled markets in recent weeks, with investors abandoning riskier assets and scrambling to safe havens.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 20 Mar. 2025
Canada, Mexico and China have been hit with tariffs on certain goods in a campaign by the White House whose start-and-stop cadence has roiled financial markets in recent weeks.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2025
Trump administration spending cuts and freezes to federal grants are roiling major academic medical research programs, prompting layoffs, and leading administrators to abandon studies and rescind admissions offers to graduate students.
—Tina Reed, Axios, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for roil
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Scott Neuman, NPR, 22 Mar. 2025
President Donald Trump’ s new trade policies have roiled markets in recent weeks, with investors abandoning riskier assets and scrambling to safe havens.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 20 Mar. 2025
Canada, Mexico and China have been hit with tariffs on certain goods in a campaign by the White House whose start-and-stop cadence has roiled financial markets in recent weeks.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2025
Trump administration spending cuts and freezes to federal grants are roiling major academic medical research programs, prompting layoffs, and leading administrators to abandon studies and rescind admissions offers to graduate students.
—Tina Reed, Axios, 19 Mar. 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 26 Mar. 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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