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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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as in contaminated
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Recent Examples of fouled
Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2025
Matters only got more bleak in the sixth, when Rushing fouled a ball off his right shin, smoking a ball right above where his guard ended and immediately going down in pain.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
That might have ended in the sixth inning on Friday night when Rushing fouled a ball off his right shin, dropped to the ground in obvious pain and had to be helped from the field.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 6 Sep. 2025
But just as Indiana was on the verge of cutting the lead to a single possession, Powers fouled Clark’s former Iowa teammate Kate Martin on a 3-pointer right in front of Indiana’s bench and the second-year guard swished the shot to erupt the Chase Center crowd.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025
With the bases loaded and an 0-2 count, Miranda fouled off several pitches.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Gavin Sheets fell behind 0-2 and then fouled off five straight pitches before a curveball hit him in the right foot in the fourth inning.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
The moment occurred in Game 2 of that World Series when Piazza fouled off a pitch from Clemens and splintered his bat in the process.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 9 Aug. 2025
That led to the scramble for the loose ball in which Quaintance was fouled by N'Guessan.
—Field Level Media, Reuters, 5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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
Adjective
Sporting was awarded the spot kick after a video review revealed Shapi Suleymanov had been fouled while dribbling in on goal.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2025
Matters only got more bleak in the sixth, when Rushing fouled a ball off his right shin, smoking a ball right above where his guard ended and immediately going down in pain.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
That might have ended in the sixth inning on Friday night when Rushing fouled a ball off his right shin, dropped to the ground in obvious pain and had to be helped from the field.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 6 Sep. 2025
But just as Indiana was on the verge of cutting the lead to a single possession, Powers fouled Clark’s former Iowa teammate Kate Martin on a 3-pointer right in front of Indiana’s bench and the second-year guard swished the shot to erupt the Chase Center crowd.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025
With the bases loaded and an 0-2 count, Miranda fouled off several pitches.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Gavin Sheets fell behind 0-2 and then fouled off five straight pitches before a curveball hit him in the right foot in the fourth inning.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
The moment occurred in Game 2 of that World Series when Piazza fouled off a pitch from Clemens and splintered his bat in the process.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 9 Aug. 2025
That led to the scramble for the loose ball in which Quaintance was fouled by N'Guessan.
—Field Level Media, Reuters, 5 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fouled
Verb
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Inside the retro-futuristic Discoveryland area of Disneyland Paris, a full-size Star Wars X-Wing fighter sits on a silver and blue platform which looks like it has been weathered and stained from battles.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Doing some research on other things my car needs (truly the theme for this week) and decide a seat cover would be good, since it’s been stained a bit with annoying food spills.—
R29 Team,
Refinery29,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The area is significantly polluted with DDT, a chemical used as an insecticide that was banned in 1972.—
Maura Fox,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Sep. 2025
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Other public speakers, like Tabitha Fader, said the reroute would cause irreparable harm if wetlands and rivers were polluted during pipeline construction or in the event of a spill.—
Laura Schulte,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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All that to be humiliated in the Orlando bubble?—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Inter Miami, clearly humiliated, let out its frustrations after the final whistle, when several Miami players, led by Luis Suarez, got into a scuffle with Seattle players.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Two people discovered badly decomposed human remains while doing a walkthrough of a home for sale in Ohio, police told news outlets.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Kansas City Star,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Their remains were either so badly decomposed to be identified, or perhaps their dog tags were missing.—
Jim Clash,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Two children who became ill showed symptoms of a condition that can arise from contaminated water.—
Madeline Heim,
jsonline.com,
5 Sep. 2025
-
In communities without clean water, families often burn wood to boil contaminated water, contributing to both deforestation and emissions.—
Sivan Yaari,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The name comes from how their interior walls were blackened from burning peat.—
Lauren Frayer,
NPR,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Currently, according to Applebee's website, menu items include bourbon street chicken and shrimp, hot honey glazed chicken and blackened Cajun salmon.—
Cathy Kozlowicz,
jsonline.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As part of her ruling, Kreuziger barred McQueen, 59, from saying Lawrence Kenyon poisoned or attempted to poison her while they were married.—
Evan Mealins,
The Tennessean,
10 Sep. 2025
-
When she was eventually released, Lee and a small group of her followers made the journey to America to spread their gospel, believing the people of Manchester to be poisoned by the teachings of the Church of England.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Eventually, however, Lowell’s ideas were discredited—Schiaparelli, once an ally, renounced them—and the world moved on.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
29 Aug. 2025
-
By the end of the year, the cold fusion bubble had burst, the technology was discredited, and the concept relegated to bad spy fiction and conspiracy theories.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fouled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fouled. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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