foil (noun)

a piece of thin and flexible sheet metal

"the photographic film was wrapped in foil"

foil, enhancer (noun)

anything that serves by contrast to call attention to another thing's good qualities

"pretty girls like plain friends as foils"

hydrofoil, foil (noun)

a device consisting of a flat or curved piece (as a metal plate) so that its surface reacts to the water it is passing through

"the fins of a fish act as hydrofoils"

foil, transparency (noun)

picture consisting of a positive photograph or drawing on a transparent base; viewed with a projector

foil (verb)

a light slender flexible sword tipped by a button

foil (verb)

enhance by contrast

"In this picture, the figures are foiled against the background"

thwart, queer, spoil, scotch, foil, cross, frustrate, baffle, bilk (verb)

hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

"What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent"

foil (verb)

cover or back with foil

"foil mirrors"

FOIL (Verb)

To apply the FOIL algorithm to.

FOIL (ProperNoun)

A particular algorithm for multiplying two binomials.

foil (Noun)

A very thin sheet of metal.

foil (Noun)

Thin aluminium/aluminum (or, formerly, tin) used for wrapping food.

foil

A thin layer of metal put between a jewel and its setting to make it seem more brilliant.

foil

In literature, theatre/theater, etc, a character who helps emphasize the traits of the main character.

foil

Anything that acts to emphasise the characteristics of something.

foil

A very thin sword with a blunted (or foiled) tip

foil

A thin, transparent plastic material on which marks are made and projected for the purposes of presentation. See transparency.

foil

A stylized flower or leaf.

foil

Shortened form of hydrofoil.

foil (Verb)

To prevent (something) from being accomplished.

foil (Verb)

To prevent (someone) from accomplishing something.

foil (Noun)

The track of an animal.

foil (Verb)

To multiply two binomials together.

foil

Shortened form of aerofoil/airfoil.

Foil

In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character. A foil usually either differs drastically or is extremely similar but with a key difference setting them apart. The concept of a foil is also more widely applied to any comparison that is made to contrast a difference between two things. Thomas F. Gieryn places these uses of literary foils into three categories which Tamara Antoine and Pauline Metze explain as: those that emphasize the heightened contrast, those that operate by exclusion, and those that assign blame. In Pride and Prejudice, Mary's absorption in her studies places her as a foil to her sister Elizabeth Bennet's lively and distracted nature. Similarly, in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, the character Brutus has foils in the two characters Cassius and Mark Antony. In the Harry Potter series, Draco Malfoy can be seen as a foil to the Harry Potter character; Professor Snape enables both characters "to experience the essential adventures of self-determination" but they make different choices.