Thesaurus
foul
adjective
Synonyms and Antonyms of FOUL
1
marked by wet and windy conditions <the foul weather brought out the windbreakers and rain slickers as everyone braced for a day of rough sailing>
2
not being in accordance with the rules or standards of what is fair in sport <an aggressive hockey player who is known for his foul play and readiness for a fight>
Related Words dishonorable, shabby, shameful; ignoble, low, mean, ungentlemanly; immoral, rotten, unchivalrous, unethical, unjust, unprincipled, unrighteous, unscrupulous
Phrases below the belt
Near Antonyms just, law-abiding; ethical, moral, principled, righteous, scrupulous; honorable, irreproachable, unimpeachable
3
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment <a foul taste that made us gag>
Synonyms abhorrent, abominable, appalling, awful, disgusting, distasteful, dreadful, evil, foul, fulsome, gross, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, nauseous, noisome, noxious, obnoxious, obscene, odious, rancid, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting, scandalous, shocking, sickening, ugly
Related Words exceptionable, objectionable; brackish, disagreeable, dislikable (also dislikeable), unpleasant; contemptible, despicable, detestable, hard, hateful; unhealthy, unsavory, unwholesome; execrable, lousy, miserable; atrocious, frightful, ghastly, grim, grisly, gruesome (also grewsome), heinous, horrendous, horrific, horrifying, lurid, macabre, monstrous, nightmarish, shocking, sick, sickish, sickly, terrible, unspeakable, vile; off-putting, undesirable, unwanted, unwelcome; barbarous, unchristian, uncivilized, ungodly, unholy; distressing, disturbing, upsetting
Near Antonyms acceptable, agreeable, alluring, appealing, attractive, blessed (also blest), congenial, darling, delectable, delicious, delightful, delightsome, desirable, dreamy, dulcet, enjoyable, felicitous, gratifying, heavenly, inviting, likable (or likeable), luscious, nice, palatable, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, savory (also savoury), sweet, welcome; unexceptionable, unobjectionable; healthful, healthy, restorative, salubrious, salutary, wholesome
Antonyms innocuous, inoffensive
4
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society <that movie features nonstop foul language>
Synonyms bawdy, blue, coarse, crude, dirty, filthy, foul, gross, gutter, impure, indecent, lascivious, lewd, locker-room, nasty, pornographic, porny, profane, raunchy, ribald, smutty, stag, trashy, unprintable, vulgar, wanton, X-rated
Related Words broad, coarse-grained, gamy (or gamey), off, off-color (or off-colored), racy, risqué, salacious, salty, suggestive; barnyard, earthy, scatological; immodest, indecorous, indelicate, low, unbecoming; depraved, kinky, louche, naughty, perverse, perverted, wicked; exceptionable, objectionable, unacceptable, undesirable, unwanted, unwelcome; abhorrent, debasing, disgusting, loathsome, offensive, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting; distasteful, obnoxious, unpleasant; blamable, blameworthy, censurable, reprehensible; atrocious, infamous; abusive, scurrilous; hard-core, soft, soft-core
Near Antonyms priggish, prim, prudish, puritanical, staid, straitlaced (or straightlaced), Victorian; correct, decorous, genteel, nice, polite, proper, respectable, seemly; innocuous, inoffensive; acceptable, agreeable, desirable, pleasant, pleasing, welcome; appropriate, becoming, fit, meet, suitable; immaculate, perfect, pure, spotless, virginal; approved, endorsed (also indorsed), sanctioned
5
having an unpleasant smell <the foul fumes from the paper mill>
Synonyms fetid, foul, frowsty [chiefly British], frowsy (or frowzy), funky, fusty, musty, noisome, rank, reeking, reeky, ripe, smelly, stenchy, stinking, stinky, strong
6
not clean <I wouldn't play in the foul rainwater that's collected in the feeding trough>
Synonyms bedraggled, befouled, begrimed, bemired, besmirched, black, blackened, cruddy, dingy, draggled, dusty, filthy, foul, grimy, grotty [chiefly British], grubby, grungy, mucky, muddy, nasty, smudged, smutty, soiled, sordid, stained, sullied, unclean, uncleanly
Related Words contaminated, defiled, germy, impure, polluted, tainted; insanitary, uncleaned, unsanitary, unsterile, unsterilized, unwashed; greasy, gunky; chaotic, cluttered, confused, disarranged, disarrayed, disheveled (or dishevelled), disordered, jumbled, littered, messed, messy, muddled, mussed, mussy, rumpled, scruffy, sloppy, slovenly, unkempt, untidy; raunchy, scuzzy [slang], shabby, skanky [slang], sleazy, squalid; collied [chiefly British dialect], crocked [dialect], fuliginous, sooty
Near Antonyms clear, limpid, pure; cleaned, cleansed, combed, groomed, neat, ordered, orderly, tidy; bleached, purified, whitened; bright, flawless, perfect, shiny, sparkling, unspotted, untouched; taintless, unblemished, undefiled, unpolluted, untainted, virgin, wholesome
Antonyms clean, cleanly, immaculate, spick-and-span (or spic-and-span), spotless, stainless, ultraclean, unsoiled, unstained, unsullied
Seen & Heard
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