- befoul
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transitive verb
Date: before 12th century
1. to make foul (as with dirt or waste)
2. sully, soil, besmirch <scandal befouled his reputation>
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
befoul
Look at other dictionaries:
Befoul — Be*foul , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Befouled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Befouling}.] [Cf. AS. bef?lan; pref. be + f?lan to foul. See {Foul}, a.] 1. To make foul; to soil. [1913 Webster] 2. To entangle or run against so as to impede motion. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
befoul — index contaminate, corrupt, debase, infect, pillory, pollute, stain, taint (contaminate) … Law dictionary
befoul — early 14c., from BE (Cf. be ) + FOUL (Cf. foul) (v.). Related: Befouled; befouling … Etymology dictionary
befoul — foul, dirty, sully, *soil, smirch, besmirch, grime, begrime, tarnish Analogous words: *spot, spatter, sprinkle … New Dictionary of Synonyms
befoul — [bē foul′, bifoul′] vt. [ME befoulen < OE befylan: see BE & FOUL] 1. to make filthy; dirty; soil 2. to cast aspersions on; slander befoulment n … English World dictionary
befoul — befouler, n. befoulment, n. /bi fowl /, v.t. to make dirty or filthy; soil; defile; sully: a bird that befouls its own nest. [1275 1325; ME bi foulen. See BE , FOUL] * * * … Universalium
befoul — verb a) To make foul; to soil. b) To entangle or run against so as to impede motion. See Also: foul, afoul … Wiktionary
befoul — Synonyms and related words: abuse, afflict, aggrieve, benasty, bespatter, bewitch, blacken, blight, condemn, contaminate, convert, corrupt, crucify, curse, damage, debase, defalcate, defame, defile, denigrate, deprave, desecrate, despoil, destroy … Moby Thesaurus
befoul — (Roget s Thesaurus II) verb 1. To make dirty: begrime, besmirch, besoil, black, blacken, defile, dirty, smudge, smutch, soil, sully. See CLEAN. 2. To contaminate the reputation of: besmear, besmirch, bespatter, blacken, cloud, denigrate, dirty,… … English dictionary for students
befoul — be·foul || bɪ faÊŠl v. ruin; desecrate; soil … English contemporary dictionary
