ROIL Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

roil

verb

ˈrȯi(-ə)l

Definition of roil

as in to swirl

to be in a state of violent rolling motion the waters of the gulf tossed and roiled as the hurricane surged toward the shore

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to anger

to make angry the clerk's brusque refusal of her request roiled her enough to prompt a complaint to his supervisor

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of roil Protests by high school students angry about dilapidated, understaffed schools have roiled France since mid-September. — John Leicester, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026 French bond yields have surged to their highest levels since the early 2000s, threatening to roil global financial markets. — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026 French budget crisis worsens amid student protests France could be on the precipice of a financial crisis, as escalating student protests roiled an already shaky bond market. — Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2026 The administration’s plan to allow more imports of foreign beef has particularly roiled the agriculture-rich state of Nebraska. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for roil

Recent Examples of Synonyms for roil

Verb

Despite the fact that the brand was receiving better reviews and creating more buzz recently, speculation had been swirling for months that Leoni’s contract may not be renewed.

— Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
Questions continue to swirl, even as a second phase of the anti-fraud effort is underway.

— Julie Appleby, NPR, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of swirl

Verb

No commercial goods have entered the Gaza Strip for two days, Israeli authorities said Thursday, blaming the suspension on merchants angered by taxes imposed by the militant group Hamas — a claim that Palestinian importers deny.

— Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
The dispute over the report, which tackled an issue close to Weiss, forced CBS News to delay promotion of the episode and angered Stahl, who felt compelled to defend her reporting at a late stage of production.

— Brian Steinberg, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of anger

Verb

Multiple temperature records have been shattered, and an intense marine heat wave has been churning since last December — making our typical high tides even higher — El Niño notwithstanding.

— Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
If industrial mining machines churn up the seafloor, these delicate biological networks could collapse.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of churn

Verb

Cummings said that in January 2021, a friend of Birchmore’s called Stoughton police and told a dispatcher about the illicit relationship, infuriating Farwell.

— Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 9 Oct. 2026
His laserlike focus on the particulars of the story doesn’t leave much room for extrapolation; even the infuriating case of bureaucratic overreach that the film depicts can easily be understood, and perhaps even defended, as an aberration.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of infuriate

Verb

Water can now be used for all purposes without boiling, the department said.

— CBS News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
All residents and other property owners who have experienced water outages, low water pressure, or both, are advised to boil all water or use bottled water for drinking, cooking, preparing baby food or brushing their teeth, the news release said.

— Reed Williams, AJC.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of boil

Verb

So, expect Liverpool fans to be seething inside and outside of Anfield.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
The frustration that seethes through the show is often born of the disappointment that a form as quicksilver and astounding as songwriting can be yoked to small-minded and propagandistic ends.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of seethe

Browse Nearby Words

roguishness

roil

roiled

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Roil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roil. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of roil

verb

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