FOULED UP Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

fouled up

verb

past tense of foul up

as in fumbled

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stumbled

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 fouled up 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 Karaban almost had a costly turnover on an inbound play with 14 seconds left, but the Huskies fouled up three and Mulready split his free throw attempts, setting up the game-clinching freebies from the Huskies’ captain. — Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 15 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fouled up

Verb

Carr fumbled while trying to spike the ball, and Isaiah Glasker pounced on it to help the Cougars maintain a two-score lead going into the locker room.

— John Coon, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Then, with Georgia a first down away from a game-winning field-goal attempt, Stockton fumbled the ball.

— Connor Riley, AJC.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

Russia stumbled in all three of its Phobos attempts as well as many other Mars endeavors.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2026
Munyon's Paw-Paw, an alcoholic beverage dating to the early 1900s, has been resurrected by two longtime spirits industry veterans who stumbled upon its unusual history during a family outing.

— Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of stumbled

Verb

After losing consecutive non-road games by three points both times, on Saturday night UT blew a 24-3 halftime lead to turn it a fourth-quarter tie.

— Mac Engel October 25, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Oct. 2026
Then the Ravens blew a double-digit second-half lead for the second straight week and 10th time since the start of the 2022 season.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of blew

Verb

Miami did a relatively fine job in Weeks 2 and 3 against some of the most talented backs in Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers and Kenneth Walker of the Chiefs but slipped up the two games prior to the bye against the Vikings and Bengals.

— David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
The Iberians slipped up big time in their first match of the tournament, being shocked by Switzerland 1-0, bringing back ghosts of tournament failures past for Spanish fans.

— Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 14 July 2026

Definition of slipped up

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 screwed up

Verb

Up until tonight, Raman has done a good job of communicating a message of hope and change, while Bass, as the incumbent, has repeatedly tripped on her record over the biblically bad four years of her first term.

— Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
The truest sign that Joseph had tripped the Rams up with Hufanga’s blitz came by looking at Rams right guard Kevin Dotson.

— Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of tripped

Verb

The flow of money from Qatar into Gaza has taken on new significance since October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists stormed southern Israel, murdered some 1,200 people, and took 251 more hostage.

— Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
The child was Leslie Ann Downey, one of five victims murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between 1963 and 1965.

— Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of murdered

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fouled

fouled up

fouling

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“Fouled up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fouled%20up. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of fouled up

verb

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