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Definition of foul adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

foul

adjective
 
/faʊl/
 
/faʊl/
(comparative fouler, superlative foulest)
Idioms
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  1. dirty and smelling bad
    • foul air/breath
    • a foul-smelling prison
    • Foul drinking water was blamed for the epidemic.
    Synonyms disgustingdisgustingfoul ▪ revolting ▪ repulsive ▪ offensive ▪ grossThese words all describe something, especially a smell, taste or habit, that is extremely unpleasant and often makes you feel slightly ill.disgusting extremely unpleasant and making you feel slightly ill:
    • What a disgusting smell!
    foul dirty, and tasting or smelling bad:
    • She could smell his foul breath.
    revolting extremely unpleasant and making you feel slightly ill:
    • The stew looked revolting.
     disgusting or revolting?Both of these words are used to describe things that smell and taste unpleasant, unpleasant personal habits and people who have them. There is no real difference in meaning, but disgusting is more frequent, especially in spoken English.repulsive (rather formal) extremely unpleasant in a way that offends you or makes you feel slightly ill. Repulsive usually describes people, their behaviour or habits, which you may find offensive for physical or moral reasons.offensive (formal) (especially of smells) extremely unpleasant.gross (informal) (of a smell, taste or personal habit) extremely unpleasant.Patterns
    • disgusting/​repulsive/​offensive to somebody
    • to find somebody/​something disgusting/​revolting/​repulsive/​offensive
    • to smell/​taste disgusting/​foul/​gross
    • a(n) disgusting/​foul/​revolting/​offensive/​gross smell
    • a disgusting/​revolting/​gross habit
    • disgusting/​offensive/​gross behaviour
    • a disgusting/​revolting/​repulsive man/​woman/​person
    Extra Examples
    • She could smell his foul breath.
    • The air in the cell was foul.
  2. (especially British English) very unpleasant; very bad
    • She's in a foul mood.
    • His boss has a foul temper.
    • This tastes foul.
  3. (of language) including rude words and swearing synonym offensive
    • He exploded in a torrent of foul language.
    • I'm sick of her foul mouth (= habit of swearing).
    • He called us the foulest names imaginable.
  4. (of weather) very bad, with strong winds and rain
    • a foul night
    Topics Weatherc2
  5. (literary) very evil or cruel synonym abominable
    • a foul crime/murder
  6. [only before noun] (British English) done against the rules of a sport
    • Harper was penalized for a foul tackle.
    7. Word OriginOld English fūl, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse fúll ‘foul’, Dutch vuil ‘dirty’, and German faul ‘rotten, lazy’, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin pus, Greek puos ‘pus’, and Latin putere ‘to stink’.
Idioms
by fair means or foul
  1. using dishonest methods if honest ones do not work
    • She’s determined to win, by fair means or foul.
cry foul
  1. (informal) to complain that somebody else has done something wrong or unfair
fall foul of somebody/something
  1. to get into trouble with a person or an organization because of doing something wrong or illegal
    • to fall foul of the law
See foul in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: foul

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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