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

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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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fouling
  1. polluting
  2. poisoning
  3. discrediting
  4. disintegrating
  5. degrading
  6. rotting
  7. decaying
Verb
  • This event came days after the United Nations failed to agree on a treaty in Busan, South Korea, limiting plastic waste polluting the planet.
    Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
  • What on earth to do about all the plastic polluting the oceans, the food supply, even our bodies?
    Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024
Definition of polluting
Verb
  • These are people who are here in this country, who have been murdering, raping, poisoning our citizens.
    NBC News, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2024
  • Environmental, climate and health issues Some in this California beach town insist the Tijuana River is poisoning them.
    Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2024
Definition of poisoning
Verb
  • Many of the conspiracy theories have prompted FEMA to create a page on its site discrediting rumors and false information about its response to Hurricane Helene.
    Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2024
  • Still, the United States didn’t recognize Haiti as a nation until 1862, during the Civil War, when American leadership was looking for any support in discrediting slavery.
    Chadd Scott, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
Definition of discrediting
Verb
  • Except—and for me, the difference is crucial—Akhtar employed his creativity and imagination to shape these source materials into an utterly original work of art, whereas the rapidly disintegrating McNeal employs a chatbot, which shapes the material into an uncannily precise act of mimesis.
    Ayad Akhtar, The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2024
  • That will likely result in those protections disintegrating, Meyer said.
    J.J. McCorvey, NBC News, 2 Dec. 2024
Definition of disintegrating
Verb
  • These strikes targeted weapons depots, Iranian bases, and key logistical routes, severely degrading Tehran's ability to support its proxies.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2024
  • What a degrading finale for Biden’s feeble, forgettable, frequently foolish presidency.
    Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2024
Definition of degrading
Verb
  • But part of it has to do with who’s using that technology to spread brain-rotting information.
    Megan Poinski, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
  • The wood was rotting, algae was growing and there were about 20 cats living inside, French, 27, tells CNBC Make It.
    Celia Fernandez,Mickey Todiwala, CNBC, 5 Dec. 2024
Definition of rotting
Verb
  • Top quarks and antiquarks begin to disappear from this primordial particle-antiparticle soup, decaying away faster than the Universe can recreate them.
    Big Think, Big Think, 10 Dec. 2024
  • According to Schrader, Gere initially wanted to take his decaying look much further than his director would allow.
    Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of decaying
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near fouling

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 Dec. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on fouling

Nglish: Translation of fouling for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of fouling for Arabic Speakers

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