foulness
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being foul.
The foulness of the accusation incensed us all.
-
something that is foul; foul matter; filth.
noun
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the state or quality of being foul
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obscenity; vulgarity
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viciousness or inhumanity
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foul matter; filth
noun
Etymology
Origin of foulness
before 1150; Middle English; Old English fūlnes. See foul, -ness
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A romp in the swamp or failure in the foulness of a Rome afternoon?
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026
In the decades since, though, the main charge against the show hasn’t been foulness so much as incoherence.
From New York Times • Oct. 28, 2023
When he finally arrived, he idled in the driveway for a moment, hoping his foulness might dissipate before he had to encounter his young family.
From Slate • Nov. 26, 2022
You don’t need to see inside sealed legal filings to understand that the foulness wafted down from the top.
From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2020
What should he do with the carton of foulness he now possessed?
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
