as in contaminated
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1
as in stained
to make dirty
the mechanic fouled the bath towels with axle grease
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in polluted
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
industrial pollution fouling the water supply
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3
as in humiliated
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
the minister was irreparably fouled by baseless rumors and allegations
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4
as in decomposed
to go through decomposition
unless you want to smell the organic refuse as it fouls, locate the compost heap away from the house
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fouled
Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Oct. 2025
With the teams tied at 48 in the third quarter, guard Tiffany Hayes was fouled on a drive to the basket.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Gonzalez fouled Brunson once but otherwise held up respectably against the Knicks star in his maiden shift.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
With the Rockets up one, Durant fouled Gilgeous-Alexander with two seconds left, picking up his sixth personal foul and exiting the game.
—Ben Morse, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025
The Brewers trailed the Dodgers 3-1 with two outs and a runner on second in the top of the seventh when Chourio fouled off a Blake Treinen sweeper.
—C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
During an at-bat between Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Guardians hitter Angel Martinez, the former delivered a 100-mph fastball that the latter fouled off on an 0-2 count.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025
Jonathan Kuminga #00 of the Golden State Warriors goes up to shoot and gets fouled by Malik Monk #0 of the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on March 13, 2025 in San Francisco, California.
—Gabe Smallson, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
But the Warriors will lead going into the break, 55-54, after Jimmy Butler was fouled and made both shots.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Oct. 2025
With the teams tied at 48 in the third quarter, guard Tiffany Hayes was fouled on a drive to the basket.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
Verb
Ohtani was critical of himself for following up a 97-mph hour fastball that Guerrero fouled off with the pitch Guerrero hit for his seventh homer of these playoffs.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Gonzalez fouled Brunson once but otherwise held up respectably against the Knicks star in his maiden shift.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
With the Rockets up one, Durant fouled Gilgeous-Alexander with two seconds left, picking up his sixth personal foul and exiting the game.
—Ben Morse, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025
The Brewers trailed the Dodgers 3-1 with two outs and a runner on second in the top of the seventh when Chourio fouled off a Blake Treinen sweeper.
—C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
During an at-bat between Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Guardians hitter Angel Martinez, the former delivered a 100-mph fastball that the latter fouled off on an 0-2 count.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025
Jonathan Kuminga #00 of the Golden State Warriors goes up to shoot and gets fouled by Malik Monk #0 of the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on March 13, 2025 in San Francisco, California.
—Gabe Smallson, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fouled
Adjective
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McKinney’s company was recently suspended from the city's demolition program for allegedly filling sites with contaminated dirt obtained from the redevelopment of Northland Mall.—
Violet Ikonomova,
Freep.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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The new advisory follows recent testing in eastern Kennebec and western Waldo counties, which showed that deer and turkey sampled from areas near contaminated soil had PFAS concentrations in muscle tissue high enough to warrant a public health warning.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The costume, which has made waves online, features Fox in a pink suit stained with fake blood, meant to resemble the former first lady shortly after the assassination of her husband.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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Nelson’s wallpaper is not genuine leather, but features a floral Victorian design that Nelson painted and stained to give the originally white pattern a brownish, leather-like look.—
Lennie Omalza,
Louisville Courier Journal,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That includes farmers who have had sludge from water treatment plants spread on their land containing PFAS, fire departments, airports and municipalities, people who own land that was polluted by PFAS originating from another nearby property or waste facilities that accepted PFAS.—
Laura Schulte,
jsonline.com,
17 Oct. 2025
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In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, women in cobalt-mining regions have reported reproductive-health concerns such as miscarriages and birth defects; cobalt mining has also polluted croplands.—
Scott W. Stern,
The Atlantic,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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After users online and public figures rushed to show solidarity to Miss Mexico, who many felt had been publicly humiliated, the Thai executive came out to apologize.—
Paula Soria,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
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No woman, under any circumstance, deserves to be insulted or humiliated.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The first was that the obstacles were decomposed into cuboids.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
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Rivas’ cause and manner of death are still being determined by the medical examiner; the exam is taking longer than usual as the remains were severely decomposed.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The mother of a 30-year-old teacher in Oklahoma is blaming a restaurant’s tainted margarita for her daughter’s unexpected death.—
Mike Stunson,
Kansas City Star,
30 Oct. 2025
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The British government recently added eight countries to its list of travel warnings related to the risk of methanol poisoning from tainted alcohol.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Skip any skins that look moldy, blackened, or spoiled.—
Cathy Cassata,
Health,
24 Oct. 2025
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Day turned to night as thick, acrid clouds blackened the sky.—
Robert Wyss,
The Conversation,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Notions had persisted that Brahe was poisoned to death with mercury, but later analyses of his bones and teeth disproved the idea.—
Scott Lafee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Nov. 2025
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There’s often an arch detachment where the singer tries to pretend as though they haven’t actually been poisoned by being online themselves.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fouled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fouled. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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