foul (foul)adj. foul·er, foul·est 1. Offensive to the senses; revolting. 2. Having an offensive odor; smelly. 3. Rotten or putrid: foul meat. 4. a. Full of dirt or mud; dirty. See Synonyms at dirty. b. Full of impurities; polluted: foul air. 5. Morally detestable; wicked: foul deeds. 6. Of a vulgar or obscene nature: foul language. 7. Very disagreeable or displeasing; horrid: a foul movie. 8. Bad or unfavorable: in fair weather or foul. 9. Violating accepted standards or rules; dishonorable: used foul means to gain power. 10. a. Sports Contrary to the rules of a game or sport: a foul boxing punch. b. Baseball Outside the foul lines: a foul fly ball. 11. Entangled or twisted: a foul anchor. 12. Clogged or obstructed; blocked: a foul ventilator shaft. 13. Archaic Ugly; unattractive. n.1. Abbr. Fa. Sports An infraction or a violation of the rules of play. b. Baseball A foul ball. 2. An entanglement or a collision. 3. An instance of clogging or obstructing. v. fouled, foul·ing, fouls v.tr.1. To make dirty or foul; pollute. See Synonyms at contaminate. 2. To bring into dishonor; besmirch. 3. To clog or obstruct. 4. To entangle or catch (a rope, for example). 5. Nautical To encrust (a ship's hull) with foreign matter, such as barnacles. 6. a. Sports To commit a foul against. b. Baseball To hit (a ball) outside the foul lines. v.intr.1. To become foul. 2. a. Sports To commit a foul. b. Baseball To hit a ball outside the foul lines: fouled twice and then struck out; fouled out to the catcher. 3. To become entangled or twisted: The anchor line fouled on a rock. 4. To become clogged or obstructed. Phrasal Verbs: foul out Sports To be put out of a game for exceeding the number of permissible fouls. foul up To blunder or cause to blunder because of mistakes or poor judgment.
[Middle English, from Old English f l; see p - in Indo-European roots.]
foul ly adv. foul ness n. |
foul upvb (adverb)1. (tr) to bungle; mismanage 2. (tr) to make dirty; contaminate 3. to be or cause to be blocked, choked, or entangled n foul-up a state of confusion or muddle caused by bungling
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Verb | 1. | foul up - make a mess of, destroy or ruin; "I botched the dinner and we had to eat out"; "the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement"bobble, bodge, bollix, bollix up, bollocks, bollocks up, botch, botch up, bumble, bungle, flub, fluff, fuck up, louse up, mess up, mishandle, muck up, ball up, spoil, muff, screw up, fumble, blow go wrong, miscarry, fail - be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably" |
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