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befoul

[bih-foul] / bɪˈfaʊl /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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At long last, the U.S. is thinking beyond the tailpipe to examine hidden ways that cars befoul the planet.

From Slate Nov. 9, 2023

He has persevered through torrential downpours, droughts and, most vexingly, increasingly elaborate halftime shows that befoul his beloved turf.

From Seattle Times Feb. 12, 2023

Cow pies befoul apple carts, a teddy bear and a man trying to save a young girl.

From Washington Times Feb. 23, 2022

The aftereffects of this campaign may befoul our civic life for some time to come.

From The New Yorker Oct. 23, 2016

But then, Samir said that the ghosts would never risk stealing our breath because Rasseem was with us, and his breath could befoul the afterlife.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

And when drilling goes bad, it befouls the environment and the greater economy.

From Washington Post Oct. 7, 2021

For all the burlesque that befouls our politics, the quadrennial ritual on January 20 is when we are humbled by the reminder of our own solemn charge.

From National Geographic Jan. 20, 2021

Perhaps most distressing about SantaCon is its size and the way that it shuts down and befouls dozens of blocks.

From New York Times Dec. 13, 2013

Neither is the spread of U.S. industrialism which changes and befouls the Midwestern city.

From Time Magazine Archive

All outlay devoted to culture, to beauty, to invigoration has dried up; all that survives is what stimulates, what depraves and befouls; frivolities, substitutes and swindles.

From The New Society by Arthur Windham

But in 2026, nothing comparable exists for our befouled media landscape.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 2, 2026

On another wall was a banner reading “Break The Curse” — an unofficial campaign slogan decrying the corruption and controversy that have befouled most District 14 councilmembers for decades.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 20, 2024

A bad apple might be icky and distasteful, but befouled meat caused a related, but totally distinct, sensation cluster of contamination, queasiness and defilement.

From New York Times Dec. 27, 2021

It’s not as though Harvard lacks for alums whom the institution should be ashamed to be associated with, or who have befouled “the public perception of integrity in higher education.”

From Salon Dec. 10, 2018

The green light and the glossy patches of sunshine played over their befouled bodies.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding

Well, for Moore, it’s a blueprint: one rich guy’s knack for befouling the neighborhood foretells another’s ability to mess up the land of the free.

From The New Yorker Sep. 21, 2018

Assassins had visited his house on two different occasions, he said, though given his reputation for befouling the truth, that could mean that none had visited at all.

From Slate Aug. 9, 2016

"And then there comes a threat" — Big Coal, enabling modern contrivances while befouling nature — "to their way of life. And they will have to defend it."

From US News Jan. 22, 2016

Some of the dead animals appeared to have been moved into piles, including two carcasses befouling a creek supplying the 175-acre property with water, she said.

From Reuters Dec. 2, 2014

Despite his lead codpiece, the dust—undoubtedly—filtered in and at him, brought him daily, so long as he failed to emigrate, its little load of befouling filth.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick




Vocabulary lists containing befoul


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