1
as in to stain
to make dirty
unsightly mud and slush befouls the family car every winter
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to pollute
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
the enemy had befouled the water in all of the area's wells with animal carcasses
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of befoul
Human attention is presented as an endangered public resource, befouled by the attention economy, tech companies, virtual workplaces, Slack notifications.
—
Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2023
Hundreds of women will dress up against the cold on a gray November day to protest a pipeline that could befoul their water and will almost certainly lead to the final befouling of the planet.
—Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2022
The poison of authoritarianism is as pervasive as the cloud of sulfur dioxide that befouled the air in East Germany.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 26 Feb. 2020
Michael Kuta, 26, of the 700 block of South Addison Avenue, Villa Park, was cited for disorderly conduct – befouling property at 1:15 a.m. Nov. 28 after he was observed urinating on bushes in the 100 block of South York Street.
—Graydon Megan, chicagotribune.com, 6 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for befoul
Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2023
Hundreds of women will dress up against the cold on a gray November day to protest a pipeline that could befoul their water and will almost certainly lead to the final befouling of the planet.
—Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2022
The poison of authoritarianism is as pervasive as the cloud of sulfur dioxide that befouled the air in East Germany.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 26 Feb. 2020
Michael Kuta, 26, of the 700 block of South Addison Avenue, Villa Park, was cited for disorderly conduct – befouling property at 1:15 a.m. Nov. 28 after he was observed urinating on bushes in the 100 block of South York Street.
—Graydon Megan, chicagotribune.com, 6 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for befoul
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befoul
Verb
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But with Victoria’s Secret, Super inherited a beleaguered brand stained by upheaval and scandal.—
Alicia Adamczyk,
Fortune,
28 June 2025
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Authorities believed the killer or killers caused the catastrophic head injuries by swinging a frozen tree limb that was found nearby and stained with blood.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
26 June 2025
Verb
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Beware of anyone telling you coal or gas is the answer to high energy bills, especially when their profit margins are tied to these polluting fossil fuels.—
Emily Scarr,
Baltimore Sun,
29 June 2025
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Adam is showing how even language, the medium of the novel, can be polluted, corrupted, and transformed into a means of exploitation.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
21 June 2025
Verb
-
The site was visibly blackened by the degree of rubble thrown up by the strikes.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
23 June 2025
-
Broil the bell pepper for 4 to 6 minutes, until the skin starts to blacken.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
9 May 2025
Verb
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And for nights when you can't be bothered to dirty a million dishes just to get dinner on the table, there's an air fryer from Ninja.—
Sarah Felbin,
SELF,
23 May 2025
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Crème Brûlée Steve Granitz Crème brûlée is like butter blonde, but dirtied up a bit for a browned, warm tint.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
2 May 2025
Verb
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All of that sullied what was an excellent outing to that point.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
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Suddenly, trustees needed to concern themselves with not only the size of a donor’s check but also whether the signature on it would end up sullying the institution’s name. Enter a new class of due-diligence companies.—
Mary Holland,
Robb Report,
1 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Their reputations were besmirched.—
The Editors,
National Review,
17 Dec. 2024
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Images illustrating the reality versus carefully edited Instagram selfies have somewhat besmirched Santorini’s romantic reputation of late.—
Helen Iatrou,
AFAR Media,
16 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The hard part is dissecting a legend without soiling a mystery.—
Christopher Borrelli,
Boston Herald,
27 June 2025
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But most items—especially those that are noticeably soiled, stained, or smelly—need a longer and stronger wash cycle.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Again, not mucking it up and people liking it, which was great.—
Antonia Blyth,
Deadline,
7 June 2025
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No doubt, climate change threatens to muck it all up, disturbing patterns that have existed for centuries.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
Denver Post,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Befoul.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befoul. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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