More rough and turbulent, especially describing water with small, irregular waves.
Comparative form of choppy, from chop (the action of waves moving) + -y + -er, originally nautical language describing sea conditions.
Sailors have used this word for centuries to describe the ocean because 'choppy' waves literally look like the water is being chopped into pieces by invisible hands.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.