befouled 1 of 2

adjective

as in filthy
not clean given the task of cleaning the animals' befouled pens

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

befouled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of befoul
1
as in stained
to make dirty unsightly mud and slush befouls the family car every winter

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in polluted
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

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 befouled
Adjective
The Twits, simply trying to promote their befouled business interests, launch a campaign to restore past greatness. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
Myriad violations, from food that should’ve been trashed weeks earlier to filthy equipment, befouled the state inspection of a West Miami-Dade supermarket this week. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026 Los Angeles, that magical realm of shimmering natural beauty, was befouled by smog — maybe forever. — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026 Fennell also cut the novel’s frame story, in which the events of the story are told by the housekeeper Nelly (played in the movie by Hong Chau) to an outside observer years after all the sorrowful drama that befouled Heathcliff and Cathy. — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2026 They should not be thrown, jumped off, eaten, screamed at, or otherwise befouled. — Eddie Small, New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befouled
  1. filthy
  2. stained
  3. polluted
  4. blackened
  5. dirtied
  6. poisoned
  7. dusty
  8. sullied
Adjective
  • And the women — exhausted, filthy, scared, and sometimes wounded themselves — rose to it every time.
    — Leah Garrett, New York Daily News, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Los Angeles also struggles with an ongoing homelessness crisis — filthy encampments and rows of rusting RVs are a common sight in many neighborhoods.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of filthy
Verb
  • Donning a pink skirt suit and matching pillbox hat stained with fake blood, Fox stepped out as the former First Lady during an event for Urban Decay.
    — Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2026
  • The sculptures were frequently stained with graphite or chalk dust, whose force of presence was comparable to that of cliff or cave, capable of stunning the viewer into silence.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of stained
Verb
  • When those waters are polluted, the damage is not confined to a technical measurement in a permit or a line on a monitoring report.
    — Dana Adkins, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
  • In a world riven by democratic backsliding and polluted with AI slop, there’s something seductive about the idea of retreating to a wild, unnavigable place where no one can follow you—because you’ll be submerged up to your eyeballs.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of polluted
Adjective
  • The land, unfenced, abuts a bald blackened hillside that must be public land.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Definition of blackened
Verb
  • When stormwater dirtied by road runoff, failing septic tanks and fertilizer sullied crystal-clear rivers and lakes, and nobody cared.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2026
  • Garments can be dirtied again by the elements if air-dried outside.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Dec. 2025
Definition of dirtied
Verb
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has poisoned the well in the United States by turning Israel into a partisan issue.
    — Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 10 Nov. 2026
  • And then outside of Russia, many of them, they’ve been threatened, one has been poisoned.
    — Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of poisoned
Adjective
  • The very idea of buying a physical disc has seemed pretty dusty for years, of course.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 13 Nov. 2026
  • Longley said while ocean temperatures were warm enough for tropical development throughout the season, dry and dusty air that migrated off Africa, across the Atlantic and into the Gulf was a hindering factor, in addition to the robust El Niño.
    — Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of dusty
Verb
  • Shortly after Palace’s next match had finished, a defeat by Everton on the opening weekend of the new season, his reputation among the supporters had been sullied again.
    — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Such shenanigans are more or less expected, and certainly haven’t forever sullied the American soccer fan base, at least here at home.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 7 July 2026
Definition of sullied

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Cite this Entry

“Befouled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befouled. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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