1
as in fumbling
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
2
as in stumbling
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fouling up
Verb
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Gaines got some redemption with his TD after fumbling on a third-and-goal run in the first quarter.—
Jim Keyser,
Idaho Statesman,
25 Oct. 2025 -
However, his key mistakes included an interception, being sacked six times, and fumbling the ball away twice.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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After stumbling into a massive camp full of refugees from Nilfgaard’s ongoing campaign, Geralt winds up witness to a witch trial.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CWD can take months to years for symptoms to appear, which could include drastic weight loss, stumbling or lack of coordination, drooling and listlessness.—
Caroline Neal,
Louisville Courier Journal,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Best of all though is Reeves, channeling his own 1989 comic past from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure or a bit of Todd Higgins from Parenthood to bring deadpan delight as the well-meaning but constantly screwing up angel trying to do good but being so bad at it.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
7 Sep. 2025
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As Nick in the present-adjacent day sure knows a hell of a lot about Dante Alighieri, perhaps the best person to criticize him and recognize his gaps in logic and knowledge, and how Nick is so profoundly screwing up his own life, would be Dante himself.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The main components have measurement indicators so there’s no chance of slipping up, and the parts can all nest inside the large container for easy storage when you’re done drinking your coffee.—
Mark Marino,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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That team pulled off this same trick, blowing the doors off all comers until slipping past USC.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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The space was stifling in the Louisiana heat, so fans were blowing for everyone inside.—
Luke Chinman,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But instead of tripping in frustration, Benioff rose to the threefold leadership challenge of correcting a media misunderstanding, pulling off another tentpole event for his company, and contributing a major economic boost to his beloved San Francisco.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
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Marchand had a shot on goal five seconds into the game, drew a tripping penalty 33 seconds into the game and tallied the primary assist on Mackie Samoskevich’s goal on the ensuing power play.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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What's mucking up the process is a telepathic outlier named The Mule (Pilou Asbæk), whose ravenous appetite for galactic dominance has created anomalies in Seldon's branching prognostications of how this whole ordeal will unfold.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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The hydrogen flow keeps vaporized tin from mucking up the system’s optics.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
12 June 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Fouling up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fouling%20up. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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