foiled

¹ American  

[foild] / fɔɪld /

verb

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

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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 American  

[foild] / fɔɪld /

adjective

Architecture.

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

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Other Word Forms

• unfoiled
  adjective

Etymology

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

See Examples For:

foiled

But The Times newspaper and a few other UK media have reported that police found no traces of explosives, easing fears that an attack had been foiled but leaving many questions unanswered.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

British investigators are probing whether Iran or an Islamist group was behind a foiled attack on the RAF Fairford air base in western England.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

British counterterrorism police said they were releasing five men on bail who where arrested over the foiled attack on a U.K. air base.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

A farmer who called 999 when she saw a group of "masked men" near RAF Fairford early on Sunday believes she "foiled" their plans by "pure luck".

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Her son had gone, and her lover, and there was nothing left Even the promise to return had foiled her futile grasp.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• barred
• blocked
• closed
• confined
• controlled
• defined
• deprived
• prescribed
• reduced
• restrained
• secured
• shortened
• tethered