Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to foul
Participle: fouled
Gerund: fouling
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | foul |
| you | foul |
| he;she;it | fouls |
| we | foul |
| you | foul |
| they | foul |
Perfect
| I | have fouled |
| you | have fouled |
| he;she;it | has fouled |
| we | have fouled |
| you | have fouled |
| they | have fouled |
Past
| I | fouled |
| you | fouled |
| he;she;it | fouled |
| we | fouled |
| you | fouled |
| they | fouled |
Pluperfect
| I | had fouled |
| you | had fouled |
| he;she;it | had fouled |
| we | had fouled |
| you | had fouled |
| they | had fouled |
Future
| I | will foul |
| you | will foul |
| he;she;it | will foul |
| we | will foul |
| you | will foul |
| they | will foul |
Future Perfect
| I | will have fouled |
| you | will have fouled |
| he;she;it | will have fouled |
| we | will have fouled |
| you | will have fouled |
| they | will have fouled |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | foul |
| you | foul |
| he;she;it | foul |
| we | foul |
| you | foul |
| they | foul |
Perfect
| I | have fouled |
| you | have fouled |
| he;she;it | have fouled |
| we | have fouled |
| you | have fouled |
| they | have fouled |
Imperfect
| I | fouled |
| you | fouled |
| he;she;it | fouled |
| we | fouled |
| you | fouled |
| they | fouled |
Pluperfect
| I | had fouled |
| you | had fouled |
| he;she;it | had fouled |
| we | had fouled |
| you | had fouled |
| they | had fouled |
Conditional
Present
| I | would foul |
| you | would foul |
| he;she;it | would foul |
| we | would foul |
| you | would foul |
| they | would foul |
Perfect
| I | would have fouled |
| you | would have fouled |
| he;she;it | would have fouled |
| we | would have fouled |
| you | would have fouled |
| they | would have fouled |
Imperative
| you | foul |
| we | Let's foul |
| you | foul |
Verbs conjugated like 'foul'
abandon,
abduct,
abear,
aberr,
abject,
abord,
abort,
abound,
abraid,
abray,
abrook,
abscind,
abscond,
absist,
absorb,
abstain,
abstract,
accend,
accent,
accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'foul'
foal,
foil,
fool,
fowl,
joul,
soul,
woul,
youl,
befoul,
boil,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- to make physically dirty
- assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, bedizen, befile, befoul, begrime, beray, besully, bewray, blacken, blot, blur, contaminate, darken, denigrate, dirty, drag through the mud, dull, foil, gunk, gunk up, inquinate, pollute, sling mud, slotter, slur, smutch, soss, sowl, spot, stain, sullow, taint, tarnish, uggle
Additional Information
Etymology
1. O.E.
ful "dirty, stinking, vile, corrupt," from P.Gmc.
*fulaz (cf. O.H.G.
fül, M.Du.
voul, Ger.
faul, Goth.
füls), from base
*fu-, corresponding to PIE
*pu-, perhaps from the sound made in reaction to smelling something bad (cf. Skt.
puyati "rots, stinks,"
putih "foul, rotten;" Gk.
puon "discharge from a sore;" L.
pus "putrid matter,"
putere "to stink,"
putridus "rotten;" Lith.
puviu "to rot"). Of weather, first recorded c.1380. In the sporting sense of "irregular, unfair" it is first attested 1797, though
foul play is recorded from 1440. O.E.
ful occasionally meant "ugly" (as contrasted with
fæger (adj.), modern
fair), a sense frequently found in M.E., and the cognate in Sw. is the usual word for "ugly."
Foulmouthed first attested 1596 in Shakespeare.
Foulmart was a M.E. word for "polecat" (from O.E.
mearð "marten").
2. Inherited from Middle English foulen, fulen, from Old English fūlian (“to become foul; rot; decay”), from Proto-West Germanic *fūlēn, from Proto-Germanic *fūlāną (“to rot; decay”). See: Middle English '
foulen', Middle English '
foulen'.
Verbs referencing "foul"
Swedish
foula, Latin
puteo.
Sample Sentences
-
to foul the face or hands with mire
-
She's fouled her diaper.
-
He's fouled his reputation.
-
The hair has fouled the drain.
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The recent opening of the bridge at the south end of Lincoln Station has enabled trains to take water there without fouling the level crossings at both ends of the platforms. [1959 November 26, P. W. B. Semmens, “Sunday Diversions on the East Coast Main Line”, in Railway Magazine, page 759:]
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As a result of the accident at Southend Airport when a Hermes aircraft overshot the runway and fouled the down Shenfield to Southend Victoria line between Rochford and Prittlewell, the Eastern Region is considering warning arrangements, which have already been provided on some lines running past aerodromes. [1961 November, “Talking of Trains: Aircraft on rail tracks”, in Trains Illustrated, page 650:]
-
Unbelievable. Nearly all shots were fouled by twigs or branches. [2013, Miles Johannesburg, The Airgun Hunters Chronicles:]
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Porterfields 5" guns were of little use as their shots were fouled' by the other task group warships down range. [2018 September 21, Martin Irons, Phalanx Against the Divine Wind: Protecting the Fast Carrier Task Force During World War 2, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 217:]
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“You were lucky the shot was fouled,” said a dispassionate voice. [2020, Yoon Ha Lee, Phoenix Extravagant, start of chapter 21]
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The kelp has fouled the prop.
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The Indian's heart was sore for his boat; it looked as if nothing could save her. She was drifting more slowly now, her propeller fouled in kelp. [1941, Emily Carr, chapter 18, in Klee Wyck:]
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Smith fouled him hard.
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The Gunners dominated for long periods but, against the run of play, Denilson fouled Max Gradel and Robert Snodgrass put Leeds ahead from the spot. [2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, in BBC:]
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Smith fouled within the first minute of the quarter.
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State begins fouling and UCLA misses a couple of front-end free throws on one-and-ones. [2009, Brandon Lang, Stanley Cohen, Beating the Odds: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Sports Handicapper, →ISBN:]
-
Jones fouled the ball off the facing of the upper deck.
-
Jones fouled for strike one.
-
The drain fouled.
-
The prop fouled on the kelp.
-
The full capacity, however, requires a hopper of a size that takes the wagon body up to 11ft 11½in above rail level, which would foul many existing colliery screens. [1963 July, “News and Comment: The future of coal by rail”, in Modern Railways, page 5:]