foul
1
8.1
- adjective
- /faʊl/
- Jargon
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
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
- Jargon
7
4.3
A penalty called for bad behaviour during play that gives the other team a free throw
- Specialized
6
3.8
A rule break in sport when a player makes illegal rough contact with an opponent
- Specialized
1
2.6
A free throw in basketball taken from the line when an opponent breaks the rules
How Clean
Surface Forms
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.