FOUL UP Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words

foul-up 1 of 2

noun

ˈfau̇(-ə)l-ˌəp

Definition of foul-up

as in mistake

an instance of confusion there was a foul-up with our mail order, and not one item arrived as ordered

Synonyms & Similar Words

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foul up

2 of 2

verb

as in to fumble

to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way tried not to foul up the football play

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to trip

to make a mistake unfortunately, I fouled up and in my e-mail gave everyone the wrong date for the meeting

Synonyms & Similar Words

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-up

Noun

There are fewer opportunities for foul-ups and mishandling between flights when there are fewer connections and layovers. — Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 5 Mar. 2025 That foul-up then gets included in the series of questions and answers, causing the final answer to go askew. — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024

Verb

But their strategy was fouled up when the car’s occupants switched on the headlights, throwing a glare up the tote road along which the wardens had planned to sprint. — Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026 Wild turkeys gobbled up Staten Island straphangers’ time on Monday, after a flock fouled up service on the Staten Island Railway. — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for foul-up

Recent Examples of Synonyms for foul-up

Noun

Well, his speed off the edge can cause a quarterback to make mistakes — the kind of game-changing mistakes from which the Chiefs did not benefit a year ago.

— Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 7 Sep. 2026
In a work so dense with references, mistakes will sprout like crabgrass; write a big book on André Le Nôtre’s formal gardens and the earthworm experts will gather to deride your confusion.

— Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of mistake

Verb

After Jordan fumbled away a screen pass, Maiava later found Mosley for that 68-yard score.

— Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Balogun didn’t hurt his stock or his public image by walking away from Everton, a club that fumbled its way through another transfer window.

— Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of fumble

Verb

An older man to my right tripped and took a face-first dive across the pavement, glasses flying off his face.

— Timothy Townsend, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Mizzou tripped Kansas 42-31 last season in Columbia, went 4-1 against the Jayhawks uninterrupted from 2007-11 at Arrowhead Stadium and also conquered KU 42-17 in 2006 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia.

— Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of trip

Verb

Scott Schaunaman, a Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department spokesperson, said the contractor accidentally bored into a six-inch, high-pressure gas line from 150 feet away, blowing open a portion of 10th Street.

— Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2026
Fourteen of those storms originated in the East Pacific, which, with two and a half months of the season still to come, will likely blow past its average seasonal storm total of 15.

— Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of blow

Verb

But since then, Nosková has solidified while Sabalenka has stumbled, and the Czech has also gotten through some tough matches to reach this one.

— Ava Wallace, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Byron Nelson stumbles again Normally an area power, Trophy Club Byron Nelson is off to a rocky start.

— Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of stumble

Noun

How much does nothing weigh, when the nothing is filled with longing, curiosity, confusion, discomfort, and grief?

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Without that discipline, organizations may end up creating more dashboards while preserving the same confusion.

— Suresh Rajapakse, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of confusion

Verb

That doesn’t mean the Yankees screwed up in their process by trading for Stanton.

— Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Every time a player screwed up, the coaching staff and his teammates received a text message, calling out both the infraction and the guilty party.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of screw up

Browse Nearby Words

fouls up

foul-up

foul up

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Style

“Foul-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foul-up. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of foul-up

noun

verb

Example Sentences

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