Fouling - English meaning

verb

Render (something) poorer in quality by adding another substance.

Usage examples:

The brewer is said to adulterate his beer

adjective

Not pure or genuine.

Usage examples:

Adulterate remedies

verb

To make something weaker or of worse quality by adding something else to it

Usage examples:

Saffron is very expensive, and is often adulterated with other plants.

verb

Make dirty; pollute.

Usage examples:

The dangers of letting industry befoul the environment

verb

Blacken with ingrained dirt.

Usage examples:

The smoke of industry begrimes buildings

verb

Smear or cover with a greasy or sticky substance.

Usage examples:

A shirt hideously besmeared with the blood of the victim

verb

Damage (someone's reputation).

Usage examples:

He had besmirched the good name of his family

verb

Make or become black or dark, especially as a result of burning, decay, or bruising.

Usage examples:

Stone blackened by the soot of ages

verb

To make something black

Usage examples:

For miles around, trees were blackened by the fire.

noun

A plant disease, typically one caused by fungi such as mildews, rusts, and smuts.

Usage examples:

The vines suffered blight and disease

verb

Have a severely detrimental effect on.

Usage examples:

The scandal blighted the careers of several leading politicians

noun

Something that spoils or destroys or causes damage

Usage examples:

[ u ] the city stopped urban blight by rebuilding neighborhoods., poverty and disease blighted thei…

verb

Make (something) impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance.

Usage examples:

The site was found to be contaminated by radioactivity

verb

To make something less pure or make it poisonous

Usage examples:

The disease can be caused by a variety of viruses, bacteria, and other small organisms that contami…

verb

To make something less pure or make it poisonous

Usage examples:

The government recently reported that 10% of farmland has been destroyed by pollution and that heav…

verb

Damage the purity or appearance of; mar or spoil.

Usage examples:

The land was defiled by a previous owner

noun

A steep-sided narrow gorge or passage (originally one requiring troops to march in single file).

Usage examples:

The twisting track wormed its way up a defile to level ground

verb

(of troops) march in single file.

Usage examples:

We emerged after defiling through the mountainsides

adjective

Covered or marked with an unclean substance.

Usage examples:

A tray of dirty cups and saucers

adverb

Used for emphasis.

Usage examples:

A dirty great slab of stone

verb

Make dirty.

Usage examples:

She didn't like him dirtying her nice clean towels

verb

Affect (a person, organism, etc.) with a disease-causing organism.

Usage examples:

Pregnant women who may have been infected with the virus

verb

To cause disease in someone by introducing organisms such as bacteria or viruses

Usage examples:

Mosquitoes can infect people with malaria., fig. fear of an attack infected the entire city., an in…

verb

To damage a computer's software or data with a harmful program that has been passed from another computer

Usage examples:

Be infected by/with sth the hackers hijacked personal computers that had been previously infected b…

adjective

Covered in or full of mud.

Usage examples:

They changed their muddy boots

verb

Cover or fill (something) with mud.

Usage examples:

The linoleum flooring was muddied

adjective

Covered by or containing mud (= wet, sticky earth)

Usage examples:

Don't bring those muddy boots inside!, muddy water, the room has been painted in muddy browns and g…

noun

A substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed.

Usage examples:

He killed himself with poison

verb

Administer poison to (a person or animal), either deliberately or accidentally.

Usage examples:

Someone had tried to poison me

noun

A substance that causes illness or death if swallowed, absorbed, or breathed into the body

Usage examples:

[ u ] poison gas, [ c ] some cleaning products are poisons., [ u ] he sprayed the weeds with poison…

verb

Contaminate (water, the air, etc.) with harmful or poisonous substances.

Usage examples:

The explosion polluted the town with dioxin

Contaminate; make impure

verb

To make air, water, or earth dirty or harmful to people, animals, and plants, esp. by adding harmful chemicals or waste

Usage examples:

Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are polluting the groundwater., maybe there’s some kind of chem…

verb

Coat or mark (something) messily or carelessly with a greasy or sticky substance.

Usage examples:

His face was smeared with dirt

noun

A mark or streak of a greasy or sticky substance.

Usage examples:

There was an oil smear on his jacket

verb

Smudge or soil by smudging

noun

The upper layer of earth in which plants grow, a black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles.

Usage examples:

Blueberries need very acid soil

verb

Make dirty.

Usage examples:

He might soil his expensive suit

noun

Waste matter, especially sewage containing excrement.

Usage examples:

Hazardous waste includes contaminated soil, paint, solvent residues, asbestos and highly acidic and…

verb

Cover with drops or spots of something.

Usage examples:

Passing vehicles spattered his shoes and trousers with mud

noun

A spray or splash of something.

Usage examples:

She stood clear of the spatter of water that came off the steps

verb

To scatter small drops or bits of liquid on a surface, or of liquid to fall in small drops

Usage examples:

[ t ] the taxi hit a puddle and spattered us with mud., you left paint spatters on the floor!

noun

A sound made by something striking or falling into liquid.

Usage examples:

We hit the water with a mighty splash

verb

Cause (liquid) to strike or fall on something in irregular drops.

Usage examples:

She splashed cold water on to her face

verb

To scatter liquid or to cause liquid to scatter through the air or onto something

Usage examples:

[ t ] she splashed her face with cold water., [ i ] kids love to splash around in mud puddles., a s…

verb

Mark or discolour with something that is not easily removed.

Usage examples:

Her clothing was stained with blood

noun

A coloured patch or dirty mark that is difficult to remove.

Usage examples:

There were mud stains on my shoes

verb

To leave a mark on something that is difficult to remove, or to become colored or spoiled by a mark

Usage examples:

[ t ] strawberry juice stained my shirt., [ i ] this carpet is practical because it doesn’t stain e…

verb

Damage the purity or integrity of.

Usage examples:

They were outraged that anyone should sully their good name

verb

To spoil something that is pure or someone's perfect reputation

Usage examples:

His reputation, he said, had been unfairly sullied by half-truths and innuendos., no speck of dirt …

noun

A trace of a bad or undesirable substance or quality.

Usage examples:

The lingering taint of creosote

verb

Contaminate or pollute (something).

Usage examples:

The air was tainted by fumes from the cars

noun

The perineum.