foul play

noun

Definition of foul playnext
1
as in murder
the intentional and unlawful taking of another person's life the coroner ruled that there was no evidence of foul play

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in violence
the use of brute strength to cause harm to a person or property the suspect has a long history of foul play, and was once convicted on assault and battery charges

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 foul play With no evidence of a crime or foul play, authorities could not move against Zelich, and the case stalled. — ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026 Authorities are still working to figure out whether foul play was involved. — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026 Police did not find any signs of foul play, officials said last weekend. — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026 The next day, deputies returned to question Foy after a member of the public found Dale’s phone on the side of the road and turned it in to authorities, leading investigators to suspect potential foul play. — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for foul play
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foul play
  1. murder
  2. violence
  3. homicide
  4. blood
  5. killing
Noun
  • Burks personally prosecuted five capital murder death penalty cases during her time at the district attorney’s office.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The murder of two Israeli soldiers in the West Bank is the jumping-off point for a large-scale invasion of the Palestinian territory, a move that would further test the nation’s fraying relationship with the United States.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of murder
Noun
  • Garcia and other commissioners complained Miami-Dade was cashing in on a game that glorifies street violence and crime in Miami.
    — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026
  • More than 2,500 people had been taken into police custody by Monday evening, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said, after violence that included the burning of a historic town hall in Limoges, a city in central France.
    — Aidan Stretch, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of violence
Noun
  • An affidavit prepared by a Fort Worth Police Department homicide detective outlines the circumstances that law enforcement authorities believe support Henton’s arrest for murder, the offense on suspicion of which he was arrested on Friday.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Trump is correct that the United States has seen historic plunges in homicide, violent crime, robbery and property crime.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of homicide
Noun
  • The federal government was preparing to change its rules on low-value imports, threatening her ability to purchase cheaper prescription medications for blood thinning and heart failure from Canada.
    — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Three generations of women in my family — my grandmother, my mother, my sister — carried the same condition through the same blood before any of us had a clinical word for it.
    — Miranda Pappas, STAT, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of blood
Noun
  • Victor Romero, 62, is facing charges relating to the killing of Con Edison worker Koran Irvine, 46, on the bridge Tuesday evening.
    — Kelsie Cairns , Maria Paronich, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Kaylub Giamanco, who ran into an elementary school to stop a mass killing, gave his first interview to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
    — Casey Parks, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of killing

Browse Nearby Words

foulness
foul play
fouls
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Foul play.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foul%20play. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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