befoul

/bɪˈfaʊl/

Etymology

From be- + foul.

befoul means To make foul; to soil; to contaminate, pollute. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 80 out of 100.

Why this word is great

BEFOUL — [Verb] To make foul, dirty, or impure, physically or figuratively, with a strong connotation of disgust or defilement. From the Middle English bi-foulen, from the prefix be- (thoroughly, about) + foul (dirty, unclean). Unlike "contaminate," which implies a sterile, often scientific introduction of a harmful agent, or "sully," which is primarily reserved for tarnishing honor, "befoul" is a workhorse of visceral degradation, equally at home in the mire and the moral sphere. It is the thick, clotting oil that befouls a seabird’s plumage, the spiteful gossip that befouls a good name, and the acrid smoke from a burning tire that befouls an evening sky—a grimy testament to the active, repulsive violation of purity, naming the moment a thing is turned against its own nature.

verb

To make foul; to soil; to contaminate, pollute.“These heights are a desirable retreat, for less picturesque reasons—as an escape from a compound of vile smells perpetually arising from a great harbour full of stagnant water, and befouled by the refuse of innumerable ships with all sorts of cargoes: which, in hot weather, is dreadful in the last degree.”
To make foul; to soil; to contaminate, pollute.; To defecate on, to soil with excrement.“For its an ill Bird will befoule her own Nest […]”
To stain or mar (e.g., with infamy or disgrace).“For three days Pete bore himself according to his wont, thinking to silence the evil tongues of the little world about him, and keep sweet and alive the dear name which they were waiting to befoul and destroy.”
To entangle or run against so as to impede motion.