roily

[ roi-lee ]
See synonyms for roily on Thesaurus.com
adjective,roil·i·er, roil·i·est.
  1. turbid; muddy.

Origin of roily

1
First recorded in 1815–25; roil + -y1

Words Nearby roily

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use roily in a sentence

  • A week of hot sunshine had filled the Toba River bank full of roily water when Hollister breasted its current again.

    The Hidden Places | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • The water was choppy and roily, the canoe bobbed a good deal, the anchors dragged, and we did not see any fish.

    Tales of Fishes | Zane Grey
  • I had a little dog with me and we unthinkingly stepped in the spring making the water roily.

  • Clear, cool water is essential to the trout, while some other fish will do well in warm and even roily water.

    Soil Culture | J. H. Walden
  • No; I need a buckler till all this roily water subsides and clears.

    The Adventures of Kathlyn | Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for roily

roily

/ (ˈrɔɪlɪ) /


adjectiveroilier or roiliest
  1. rare cloudy or muddy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012