BEFOULED Synonyms: 161 Similar and Opposite Words

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

as in stained

to make dirty unsightly mud and slush befouls the family car every winter

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Adjective

Everybody wants to bring back trip-hop, but no one remembers how filthy Dummy actually sounds.

— Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2026
When the drop comes in, there’s this really filthy synth bass.

— Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of filthy

Verb

Over time, white towels can become dingy or stained, losing their bright appearance and fluffy texture.

— Anyssa Roberts, The Spruce, 28 Oct. 2026
In the distance was a bronze statue of Louis XIV on a rearing horse in the majestic Place des Victoires, its stone pedestal stained by protesters’ splashes of red paint.

— Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 28 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

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

Rau, wondering if his patients had been poisoned somehow, had his staff check the kitchen for contamination.

— D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Its death, poisoned by anti-freeze in April 2020 during Spain’s COVID confinement, sparks on screen and real-life the first criminal investigation in Spain and Europe for an animal’s slaughter.

— John Hopewell, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of poisoned

Adjective

Finding the new forms The findings reveal that certain materials capable of transforming clean tech may have been sitting on dusty digital shelves since the 1970s.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
Instead, they will be anchored to the dusty desert floor — in Joshua Tree.

— Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 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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“Befouled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befouled. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of befouled

adjective

verb

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