Befouled
to make dirty or filthy; soil; defile; sully:
a bird that befouls its own nest.
Historical Examples
All commingled, so that the uncleanness of one befouled all, and the wickedness of one contaminated all.
Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 1 (of 20) Charles Sumner
Marry, thy jerkin is all befouled with the dust of the road.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Howard Pyle
See to my gown, the third that I have befouled within the week.
The White Company Arthur Conan Doyle
Fox had stumbled in the mire, and had not only been defeated, but befouled.
Critical and Historical Essays, Volume III (of 3) Thomas Babington Macaulay
We were told that the holy-water font and the vestments of the priests had been profaned and befouled.
A Journal From Our Legation in Belgium Hugh Gibson
You cannot tell what it is to crouch here, befouled as I am, for a man to see.
Kophetua the Thirteenth Julian Corbett
And how he loathed to think that the name of the dead man was now befouled by the calculating and impure praise of schemers.
The Pretty Lady Arnold E. Bennett
How many young lives had been befouled by Smith’s abnormal lust?
Nor Iron Bars a Cage…. Gordon Randall Garrett
No young Sienese eyes rest upon anything youthful; they open into a world battered and befouled with long use.
Italian Hours Henry James
This morning the wine of my life was pure and white, now it is black and befouled.
The Sword of Damocles Anna Katharine Green
verb
(transitive) to make dirty or foul; soil; defile
v.
early 14c., from be- + foul (v.). Related: Befouled; befouling.
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- Befuddlement
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- Befuddled
to confuse, as with glib statements or arguments: politicians befuddling the public with campaign promises. to make stupidly drunk. Contemporary Examples Confusion over the catcher’s eye black is just the tip of the iceberg for this befuddled limey. Viral Video of the Day: Bad British MLB Commentary Alex Chancey, Ben Teitelbaum May 6, 2014 The […]
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