Afoul

/əˈfaʊl/ adjective

Definition

In conflict or entanglement with something; caught in a problematic situation or violation.

Etymology

From 'a-' (to) + 'foul' (dirty, tangled). Originally a nautical term describing ships whose ropes or anchors became tangled with obstacles, extended metaphorically to any complicated trouble.

Kelly Says

This word's nautical origin explains why 'run afoul of the law' feels more dramatic than 'violate the law'—it literally comes from ships getting their rigging tangled in rocks and debris, which was genuinely dangerous.

Translations

AMአማርኛ
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
ARالعربية
خالف
kha-laf
BNবাংলা
বিরোধ
bi-rodh
CACatalà
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
CSČeština
v rozporu
v roz-por-u
DADansk
i strid
i strid
DEDeutsch
gegen
ge-gen
ELΕλληνικά
σε αντίθεση
se an-ti-the-si
ESEspañol
en contravención
en kon-tra-ven-sión
FAفارسی
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
FISuomi
rikkomaton
rik-ko-ma-ton
FRFrançais
enfreindre
en-frayn-dr
GUGU
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
HAHA
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
HEעברית
ל Breaking
le bre-king
HIहिन्दी
विरुद्ध
vi-ruddh
HUMagyar
ellen
el-len
IDBahasa Indonesia
melanggar
me-lang-gar
IGIG
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
ITItaliano
in contrasto
in kon-tra-sto
JA日本語
違反
han-i
KKKK
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
KMKM
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
KO한국어
위반
wi-ban
MRMR
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
MSBahasa Melayu
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
MYမြန်မာ
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
NLNederlands
in strijd
in stridt
NONorsk
i strid
i strid
PAPA
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
PLPolski
wbrew
v-brew
PTPortuguês
em desacordo
em di-sa-kor-do
RORomână
în contradicție
in kon-tra-di-tie
RUРусский
нарушать
narušat'
SVSvenska
i strid
i strid
SWKiswahili
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
TAதமிழ்
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
TEతెలుగు
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
THไทย
ฝ่าฝืน
fa-fa-yin
TLTL
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
TRTürkçe
aykırı
ay-ki-ri
UKУкраїнська
порушувати
porushuvaty
URاردو
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
VITiếng Việt
phạm
pham
YOYO
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori
ZH中文
违反
wéi fǎn
ZUZU
a fortiori
a for-tee-ori

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