Synonyms of fouling

fouling

verb

present participle of foul

1

as in staining

to make dirty

the mechanic fouled the bath towels with axle grease

Synonyms & Similar Words

• staining
• blackening
• dirtying
• soiling
• messing
• mucking
• sullying
• smudging
• befouling
• muddying
• besmirching
• polluting
• contaminating
• daubing
• griming
• miring
• distaining
• smirching
• gauming
• begriming
• bemiring
• tainting
• discoloring
• defiling
• disordering
• disarranging
• muddling
• draggling
• disheveling
• jumbling
• disarraying
• confusing
• crocking
• collying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cleaning
• cleansing
• purging
• purifying
• decontaminating
• wiping
• brushing
• sweeping
• washing
• disinfecting
• scrubbing
• dusting
• rinsing
• sanitizing
• scouring
• mopping
• laundering
• renewing
• freshening
• brightening
• straightening (up)
• dry-cleaning
• tidying (up)
• deodorizing
• sprucing (up)

2

as in polluting

to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable

industrial pollution fouling the water supply

Synonyms & Similar Words

• polluting
• poisoning
• contaminating
• tainting
• befouling
• defiling
• infecting
• soiling
• dirtying
• staining
• sullying
• blackening
• smudging
• rotting
• diluting
• besmirching
• corrupting
• spoiling
• muddying
• adulterating
• fouling up
• miring
• griming
• watering down
• smirching
• doctoring
• begriming

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cleaning
• purifying
• clearing
• cleansing
• clarifying
• purging
• filtering
• distilling
• decontaminating
• sterilizing
• disinfecting
• sanitizing

3

as in humiliating

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• humiliating
• discrediting
• degrading
• embarrassing
• shaming
• disgracing
• rattling
• dishonoring
• insulting
• debasing
• lowering
• humbling
• confusing
• cheapening
• sinking
• demeaning
• abasing
• taking down
• criticizing
• diminishing
• minimizing
• chastening
• smirching
• disconcerting
• ridiculing
• detracting
• discounting
• decrying
• mortifying
• disparaging
• discountenancing
• confounding
• flustering
• defiling
• maligning
• belittling
• condemning
• depreciating
• libeling
• slandering
• defaming
• discomfiting
• castigating
• writing off
• fazing
• affronting
• nonplussing
• denouncing
• abashing
• crying down
• bad-mouthing
• censuring
• putting down
• damning
• execrating
• reprobating
• reprehending

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• elevating
• exalting
• citing
• praising
• honoring
• decorating
• recognizing
• celebrating
• cheering
• aggrandizing
• deifying
• applauding
• canonizing
• boasting
• complimenting
• acknowledging
• saluting
• commending
• extolling
• congratulating
• lauding
• hailing
• eulogizing
• touting
• highlighting
• acclaiming
• advancing
• promoting
• lifting
• upgrading
• feting
• raising
• spotlighting
• playing up
• magnifying
• glorifying
• boosting
• enshrining
• dignifying
• ennobling
• uplifting
• enthroning
• romanticizing
• idealizing
• enskying

4

as in decomposing

to go through decomposition

unless you want to smell the organic refuse as it fouls, locate the compost heap away from the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decomposing
• disintegrating
• rotting
• decaying
• spoiling
• corrupting
• molding
• festering
• perishing
• deteriorating
• putrefying
• falling apart
• polluting
• moldering
• descending
• crumbling
• contaminating
• turning
• rusting
• breaking down
• souring
• going to seed
• defiling
• fermenting
• tainting
• curdling
• degenerating
• sinking
• mortifying
• declining
• turning off
• addling
• withering
• dilapidating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• growing
• aging
• developing
• maturing
• ripening
• restoring
• cleansing
• renewing
• purifying
• improving
• integrating
• assembling
• composing
• refreshing
• ameliorating
• bettering
• meliorating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fouling

Unless the Nets stop fouling, take better care of the ball and make opponents work harder for their shots, the next 10 games could look an awful lot like the first. — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 11 Nov. 2026

If the kid was fouling every kid wouldn’t he be given a red card from the referee, not a jelly parent? — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026

Tucker picked up some extra bumps and bruises Saturday, most notably fouling a pitch off his right knee in the third inning. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026

Long is on Zoom, from her home in Los Angeles and seated at her kitchen counter with the sliding doors behind her, where a custodian is cleaning the deck that coyotes keep fouling. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026

Andrew Benintendi singled and went to second on a wild pitch before Peters stayed alive by fouling off 12 pitches with two strikes and walking. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026

Shohei Ohtani reacts after fouling a ball off his foot during the seventh against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium on September 7, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026

Large-scale ocean deployment would introduce challenges involving currents, waves, fouling by marine organisms, material durability, recovery of the adsorbent, and processing costs. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026

Báez worked a full count in the fourth inning, fouling off a first-pitch changeup and taking another two pitches later for a ball. — Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026