MEANING
1. Disturb a liquid or loose material so it becomes turbulent or clouded.
2. Cause agitation, unrest, or turmoil.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- roil the water
- roiling sediment
On the page
The propeller roiled the water beside the pier.
Word forms
- Base
- roil
- Past tense
- roiled
- Past participle
- roiled
- Present participle
- roiling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- roil
- Present continuous
- am/is/are roiling
- Present perfect
- have/has roiled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been roiling
- Past
- roiled
- Past continuous
- was/were roiling
- Past perfect
- had roiled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been roiling
- Future
- will roil
- Future continuous
- will be roiling
- Future perfect
- will have roiled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been roiling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: sensory / description. Forms: roil; roils; roiled; roiled; roiling Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: roils.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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