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to befoul

to befoul

3 9.4
Make something dirty or spoiled by adding harmful things
  • verb
  • /bɪˈfaʊl/
translation icon : contaminar
  • Pungent gasoline fumes befouled the air.

Examples

  • The result is that they will befoul the air, water, and land while also distributing products that could maim or kill consumers.

    Academic text (2016)
  • And this evil has befouled my people as well !

  • " They befoul the dead who fall in battle."

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The living have befouled this world long enough.

  • In the process, they have befouled our food and water supply.

    Blog text (11)
  • Even in rural areas, once-pristine national parks are befouled with ozone pollution.

    Academic text (2005)
  • A dark vapor choked the city; a smell of phosphate and urine befouled the air.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The factory's waste was dumped into the river, which soon became befouled with harmful chemicals.

  • Due to negligence, the once-clear lake is now befouled by garbage and pollutants.

  • After the storm, the beautiful beach was befouled with debris and oil spills.

Synonyms

to contaminate
vsto befoul
248 4.9

To make things like water or soil unsafe by adding harmful substances

can mean spoil more generally, not only by adding dangerous substances
to pollute
vsto befoul
109 3.4

To make water, air or land dirty by adding harmful waste

is the general term for spoiling or making impure beyond environmental cases
to defile
vsto befoul
38 8.6

To make something dirty or harm its reputation

is mainly about physical spoilage and pollution not reputation harm
to foul
vsto befoul
18 4.5

To make something dirty or blocked so it does not work properly

focuses on spoiling by contamination rather than blocking or obstructing
to dirty
vsto befoul
14 1.0

To make something unclean or covered with dirt

often implies impurity or pollution rather than only surface soiling
to begrime
vsto befoul
1 9.4

To cover something with dark dirt so it becomes dirty

is about general spoiling or impure contamination rather than just grime
to colly
vsto befoul
  • Archaic
9.9

To make something dirty or stained

emphasizes visible staining rather than broad impurity or pollution
to maculate
vsto befoul
  • Literature
9.9

To mark with spots or stains

relates more to visible spots rather than general spoiling by contamination
to bemire
vsto befoul
9.9

To cover someone or something with mud

is used more broadly for impurity and pollution not only mud stains

Antonyms

1.0

Free from dirt or harmful things

30 4.6

To remove dirt and bad chemicals from water or air to make them clean

How Dirty

to contaminate
248 4.9
to befoul
3 9.4
to soil
59 4.5
stain
224 1.4

Surface Forms

befoul infinitive
befouled past
befouled past participle
befouling present participle
befouls third person singular

Morphology

befoul = foul (transparent) = be + foul

The verb is directly formed from the adjective 'foul' with the causative prefix 'be-', meaning 'to make foul'.

Etymology

The word befoul comes from the part be- meaning 'make' and the word foul meaning 'dirty' or 'bad', like in befriend where be- helps make a verb. So, to befoul something is to 'make' it 'dirty' or to spoil it.