1
as in to stain
to make dirty
unsightly mud and slush befouls the family car every winter
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to pollute
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
the enemy had befouled the water in all of the area's wells with animal carcasses
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of befoul
Capitalism is degrading us, killing us and befouling our world.
—
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 8 June 2023
At a 2019 commencement address, Mr. Adams told a story about intimidating a neighbor whose dog was befouling his yard.
—Emma G. Fitzsimmons, New York Times, 1 June 2023
This roman à clef series begins with the patriarch of the Roy clan, Logan (Brian Cox), urinating on a carpet (evoking The Big Lebowski, befouling us).
—Armond White, National Review, 5 Apr. 2023
Michael Kuta, 26, of the 700 block of South Addison Avenue, Villa Park, was cited for disorderly conduct – befouling property at 1:15 a.m. Nov. 28 after he was observed urinating on bushes in the 100 block of South York Street.
—Graydon Megan, chicagotribune.com, 6 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for befoul
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befoul
Verb
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This mixture attacks stains a bit stronger than the water solution.—
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While new doors can cost anywhere from several hundred to thousands of dollars, staining, painting, and weather stripping can be done for under $150, according to O'Reilly.—
Verb
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Despite the cesspits of conspiracy-think that pollute contemporary politics, the specific paranoia of Letts’s characters — bugs under the skin, brainwashing, nefarious doctors in government labs — feels less blazingly relevant than comparatively quaint.—
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Chemical rockets put out huge plumes of polluting exhaust, and for a massive machine like the SpaceX Starship, with 33 first-stage engines, that can add up—especially with hundreds of launches planned.—
Verb
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In all, more than 8,000 California wildfires blackened 525,223 acres, killed 31 people and burned 16,512 structures in the past year, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.—
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While old shoes washing ashore might sound unique, this isn’t the first time that these leather shoes — well-preserved and blackened with time — have been found in the area.—
Verb
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When stormwater dirtied by road runoff, failing septic tanks and fertilizer sullied crystal-clear rivers and lakes, and nobody cared.—
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Keep them in reserve as a sleep sock to ward off icy toes and prevent sweat and skin oils from dirtying your down sleeping bag.—
Verb
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The brewery’s brand has been sullied by Harvey Weinstein-level ick that the PR response so far has just made worse.—
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Part of the art of airing dirty laundry lies in sullying oneself in the process.—
Verb
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Kelly believes a book like this hasn’t been written before because people weren’t ready to hear the truth – as though acknowledging these famous people’s complete life experiences would be besmirching their legacies.—
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The eggs were fluffy, lacking any of the rubbery slop that besmirches lesser breakfast burritos.—
Verb
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Detergent needs will also depend on a variety of other factors including how soiled your dishes are, the detergent formula (powder, liquid, or pod), and other machine specifications.—
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Traditionally, farmers have added these living biofertilizers to soil, where acidity – plus the rival microbes who live there – pose a great threat, and thus for every amount of biofertilizers dumped into soil, only a portion gets to the roots.—
Verb
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Reports about a new desktop operating system have been mucking around for years, something that blends ChromeOS with Android.—
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The sequence offers a distressing yet strangely cathartic vision of our total demise, where the world seems more peaceful without any human endeavors mucking it up.—
Cite this Entry
“Befoul.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befoul. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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