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foul

foul

1 8.1
Marked with many corrections and scribbles and not clean or ready
  • adjective
  • /faʊl/
  • Jargon
translation icon : marcado

Examples

  • It has foul lines, you know, and...

  • This would periodically have to be cleaned out, and the waste would be burned in huge, foul-smelling fires.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • They made foul sheep, slaughterhouse offal into protein for cattle feed, and they fed that bloody trash to their own English cows.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • "Imagine if we'd met foul weather," the princess said to her mother as the longship glided easily forward, propelled by the same southerly breeze that had escorted them placidly for the entire voyage.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The manuscript was filled with foul corrections, making it hard to read.

  • After several revisions, the draft remained a foul version of the final report.

  • The editor noted that the marked-up pages were in a foul state, cluttered with changes.

Synonyms

dirty
vsfoul
3 6.4

Marked with many corrections and edits

is a stronger term implying not clean or not final state
marked-up
vsfoul
1 5.6

A page or document that has corrections and notes on it

is used for documents seen as messy and not in final form

Antonyms

418 1.0

Without problems or faults

144 1.0

Clean and tidy with things in order

Idioms

no harm, no foul
  • Informal
1 8.4

Nothing bad happened, so it is okay

Compounds

46 5.3

An illegal, violent, or dishonest action that suggests a crime

12 2.8

A ball in baseball hit outside the marked lines that is not in play

9 7.7

A person who often says rude words

7 4.3

A penalty called for bad behaviour during play that gives the other team a free throw

A very strong stink that makes you want to move away

personal foul
  • Specialized
6 3.8

A rule break in sport when a player makes illegal rough contact with an opponent

foul-up
  • Informal
5 7.7

A serious, embarrassing mistake often caused by confusion or poor planning

4 3.0

A line on the basketball court where players stand to shoot free throws

foul shot
  • Specialized
3 2.6

A free throw in basketball taken from the line when an opponent breaks the rules

party foul
  • Slang
1 8.2

A rude or embarrassing action at a social gathering that causes trouble

Clothing that keeps you dry and warm in rain or storms

1 3.8

A line on a bowling lane that a player must not cross when they throw

1 3.2

Lines that mark the side edges of a baseball field past first and third base

foul-spoken
  • Offensive
8.4

Using rude words that insult other people

How Clean

clean
418 1.0
marked
2.7
foul
  • Jargon
1 8.1
ruined
1 3.1

Surface Forms

foul positive
fouler comparative
foulest superlative

Etymology

Foul for a manuscript full of marks comes from old English fūl 'dirty', so a foul copy is a draft covered in scribbles and corrections rather than a clean final version.