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

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 fumbled

Verb

While Mayfield is 3-0 in Week 1 since coming to Tampa Bay in 2023, Burrow and the Bengals have often stumbled out of the gate.

— Joe Reedy, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
On this day in 1940, four teenage boys stumbled upon one of the world’s most significant archaeological finds—through a fox’s den, 50 feet down to an underground passageway, and into a network of caves.

— Michele Metych Britannica Editors Sep. 10, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of stumbled

Verb

But then on Sunday, McFarlane blew a save by serving up a three-run blast to Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.

— Andy McCullough, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
On third down, the offensive line blew open a big hole and running back Kameron Lee found it, popping out with a 13-yard run to get the Tigers out of trouble as the third quarter ended.

— Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of blew

Verb

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
Had Pep Guardiola’s side slipped up at a subdued Etihad, then Arsenal and Mikel Arteta could have won the title with victory over Burnley on Monday.

— Sam Lee, New York Times, 13 May 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

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 tripped

Verb

When a patient of Julia’s daughter is murdered and her medical file disappears, the family becomes prime suspects.

— Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
Two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were murdered in 2015 while traveling through the northwestern state of Sinaloa.

— CBS News, CBS News, 8 Sep. 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 15 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of fouled up

verb

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