fouling

verb

Definition of foulingnext
present participle of foul
1
as in staining
to make dirty the mechanic fouled the bath towels with axle grease

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in polluting
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable industrial pollution fouling the water supply

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in humiliating
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes the minister was irreparably fouled by baseless rumors and allegations

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4
as in decomposing
to go through decomposition unless you want to smell the organic refuse as it fouls, locate the compost heap away from the house

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fouling Tucker picked up some extra bumps and bruises Saturday, most notably fouling a pitch off his right knee in the third inning. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026 Long is on Zoom, from her home in Los Angeles and seated at her kitchen counter with the sliding doors behind her, where a custodian is cleaning the deck that coyotes keep fouling. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026 Andrew Benintendi singled and went to second on a wild pitch before Peters stayed alive by fouling off 12 pitches with two strikes and walking. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026 Shohei Ohtani reacts after fouling a ball off his foot during the seventh against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium on September 7, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026 Large-scale ocean deployment would introduce challenges involving currents, waves, fouling by marine organisms, material durability, recovery of the adsorbent, and processing costs. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026 Báez worked a full count in the fourth inning, fouling off a first-pitch changeup and taking another two pitches later for a ball. — Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026 And Cronenworth, fouling off pitches against lefty Aaron Ashby, did well to stave off a strikeout before hitting a soft bounder to first baseman Jake Bauers. — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026 Congressional conservatives even called for the federal government to investigate the WNBA for civil-rights violations because of players fouling her. — Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 25 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fouling
  1. staining
  2. polluting
  3. humiliating
  4. decomposing
  5. blackening
  6. poisoning
  7. discrediting
  8. disintegrating
Verb
  • Tips To Keep Your Sink Clean Longer Rinse the sink after every use to get rid of food debris that can cause odors, get rid of soap scum, and reduce staining.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Hydrogen peroxide acts as a mild disinfectant that kills mold and bacteria and is very helpful for light staining.
    — Asia London Palomba, The Spruce, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of staining
Verb
  • This means the development of new clean energy sources will provide greater financial benefits to families rather than polluting, expensive, and outdated sources of energy like oil and gas.
    — Sanya Carley, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Many off-grid communities have long relied on costly, polluting diesel generators.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of polluting
Verb
  • The Iranians are now setting the terms of this conflict and are routinely humiliating the American president.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • Instead of demanding personal fealty or humiliating them to assert personal dominance, Lincoln absorbed their egos and occasional slights, elevating their talents and turning his fiercest political adversaries into his most devoted champions.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 24 June 2026
Definition of humiliating
Verb
  • More than two months after authorities found dozens of decomposing bodies inside the South Chicago Chapel on the Far South Side, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office has identified all 55 people whose bodies were found inside the funeral home.
    — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Over 50 decomposing bodies were discovered earlier in the month at the funeral home and cemetery.
    — Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of decomposing
Verb
  • Lines at Russian gas stations, crippled refineries, and images of burning oil depots blackening the sky lent credence to the narrative, as did blackouts and fuel shortages in Crimea.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2026
  • There’s more than just blackening bananas; electrodes embedded in the fruit transmit electrical signals into sound and light tones that constantly shift.
    — Jane Wooldridge, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of blackening
Verb
  • James Folta considers how generative AI is poisoning the literary well for everyone.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The government was the one that was poisoning the industrial alcohol the people were stealing to make bathtub gin.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of poisoning
Verb
  • Matthew Cohen—who has also gone by Jason Goose—played his own part in discrediting the files.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • This isn’t about discrediting merengue, a genre that also deserves to be celebrated, respected and protected.
    — Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of discrediting
Verb
  • Scott’s face, in this shot, is a whole novel, disintegrating into tears before being shored up again, eventually rearranged into something resembling a welcoming smile that teeters on the edge of collapse.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The 110-floor south tower, struck shortly after the north tower by another plane, was disintegrating.
    — Diane Herbst, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of disintegrating

Browse Nearby Words

fouled up
fouling
fouling up
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Cite this Entry

“Fouling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fouling. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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