foiled

¹

[foild]

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of foil.

adjective

1. prevented from succeeding; thwarted; blocked.

   A woman is now being questioned in connection with the foiled terror plot to attack churches in Paris.

foiled

²

[foild]

adjective

Architecture.

1. ornamented with foils (arcs or rounded spaces), as a gable, spandrel, or balustrade.

Other Word Forms

• unfoiled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of foiled¹

First recorded in 1300–50 as a verb, for an earlier sense; foil ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ), and in 1680–90 as an adjective; foil ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Origin of foiled²

First recorded in 1655–65; foil ² + -ed ³

Example Sentences

He struck the outside of the post in the opening stages and was later foiled one-on-one by Leno when should have doubled the lead.

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Dozens of times, local police have found half-drilled holes and abandoned equipment, suggesting his holdup attempts were foiled.

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A misconduct hearing for a Metropolitan Police firearms officer who fatally shot a man during a foiled prison break in 2015 has been discontinued.

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New South Wales police last week said they had foiled an attempted murder by a so-called "kill team" and arrested three men involved.

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Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders on Friday suspended campaigning for elections later this month, after learning that he had also been targeted in a foiled attack aimed at Belgium's Prime Minister Bert De Wever.

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Related Words

• barred 
• blocked 
• closed 
• confined 
• controlled 
• defined 
• deprived 
• prescribed 
• reduced 
• restrained 
• secured www.thesaurus.com
• shortened www.thesaurus.com
• tethered