afoul

English

Etymology

a- +‎ foul

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfaʊl/
• Rhymes: -aʊl

Adverb

afoul (comparative more afoul, superlative most afoul)

1. (archaic, principally nautical) In a state of collision or entanglement.

   The ships’ lines and sails were all afoul.

   • 1840, Richard Henry Dana Jr., chapter 15, in Two Years Before the Mast‎^[1], New York: Harper & Bros., page 137:

     After paying out chain, we swung clear, but our anchors were no doubt afoul of hers.

   • 1849, William F. Lynch, The Naval Officer, Chapter 2, in Graham’s Magazine, Volume 34, Number 3, March 1849,^[2]

     The atmosphere was soon thick and stifling, and the crews were working their guns with the energy of desperation, when a severe concussion, followed by a harsh and grating sound, told that the ships were afoul.

2. (with of) In a state of entanglement or conflict (with).

   He had a knack for running afoul of the law.

   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Chapter 20”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

     What the devil’s the matter with me? I don’t stand right on my legs. Coming afoul of that old man has a sort of turned me wrong side out.

   • 1957 December 15, “Still in Business”, in Time:

     A hemispheric axiom has it that when a dictator falls afoul of Washington, his opponents are emboldened to try to topple him.

   • 1979, Bernard Malamud, chapter 2, in Dubin’s Lives‎^[3], New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, page 79:

     Kings came to hear [Vivaldi’s] concerts but in the end he ran afoul of the Pope’s nuncio and fell out of favor, presumably for neglecting to say Mass […]

   • 1993, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, The Gripping Hand‎^[4], New York: Pocket Books, published 1994, Part 1, Chapter 3, p. 28:

     He committed acts which put him afoul of Empire law, details classified, twenty-six years ago.

Usage notes

In contemporary English, afoul is mainly used in the phrases fall afoul (of) and run afoul (of).

Derived terms

• run afoul
• run afoul of

Related terms

• foully

Translations

in a state of entanglement or conflict (with)

• Finnish: sotkussa (entangled), hakauksessa (in conflict)
• Portuguese: em conflito com, de encontro a, contra (pt)
• Russian: в запу́ганном состоя́нии (v zapúgannom sostojánii), в противоре́чие с (v protivoréčije s), вразре́з с (vrazréz s), столкнове́ние с (stolknovénije s), напереко́р (ru) (naperekór)
• Spanish: en conflicto con

Further reading

• “afoul”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “afoul”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• AFOLU