ferment

[ noun fur-ment; verb fer-ment ]

noun

1. Also called organized ferment. any of a group of living organisms, as yeasts, molds, and certain bacteria, that cause fermentation.
2. Also called unorganized ferment. an enzyme.
3. fermentation.
4. agitation; unrest; excitement; commotion; tumult:

   The new painters worked in a creative ferment.

   The capital lived in a political ferment.

verb (used with object)

1. to act upon as a ferment.
2. to cause to undergo fermentation.
3. to inflame; foment:

   to ferment prejudiced crowds to riot.

4. to cause agitation or excitement in:

   Reading fermented his active imagination.

verb (used without object)

1. to be fermented; undergo fermentation.
2. to seethe with agitation or excitement.

ferment

noun

1. any agent or substance, such as a bacterium, mould, yeast, or enzyme, that causes fermentation
2. See fermentation
   another word for fermentation
3. commotion; unrest

verb

1. to undergo or cause to undergo fermentation
2. to stir up or seethe with excitement

Usage

See foment

Derived Forms

• ferˈmenter, noun
• ferˌmentaˈbility, noun
• ferˈmentable, adjective

Other Words From

• fer·ment·a·ble adjective
• fer·ment·a·bil·i·ty [fer-men-t, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], noun
• non·fer·ment·a·bil·i·ty noun
• non·fer·ment·a·ble adjective
• non·fer·ment·ed adjective
• non·fer·ment·ing adjective
• un·fer·ment·a·ble adjective
• un·fer·ment·ed adjective
• un·fer·ment·ing adjective
• well-fer·ment·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ferment¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin fermentum “yeast” (noun), fermentāre “to cause to rise” (verb), equivalent to fer(vēre) “to boil” + -mentum -ment ( def ); fervent

Word History and Origins

Origin of ferment¹

C15: from Latin fermentum yeast, from fervēre to seethe

Example Sentences

You can commission a conclusion from one of Molly’s peers, or go hunting for the best one that bubbles up from the ferment of the fans.

From MIT Technology Review

Using a mason jar for lacto-fermentation, you have to regularly “burp” the ferment by opening the lid every now and then to release the gas.

From Eater

But it was intellectual ferment that Sheehy craved above all else.

From The Daily Beast

“Biofuel” can be made out of anything that will ferment or rot, including digestive system waste products.

From The Daily Beast

A literary ferment erupted in coastal Andhra between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

From The Daily Beast

In other words, we have political mobilization, backed by intellectual ferment and blessed by the president of the United States.

From The Daily Beast

Ferment isn't imminent, but the conditions for it are ripe, said the group in a new report out this week.

From The Daily Beast

Lime salts also possess the power of transforming renninogen into the active ferment.

From Project Gutenberg

They are extremely prone to change, and in presence of animal matters readily ferment, and are converted into salts of ammonia.

From Project Gutenberg

At the moment when our history begins, the audacity of the new religious doctrines was putting all Paris in a ferment.

From Project Gutenberg

A mixture of water and honey allowed to ferment together was called mulsa.

From Project Gutenberg

The existence of such a soluble ferment would explain the presence of free sugar and free fisetin.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• commotion
• disquiet
• excitement
• frenzy
• restlessness
• tumult
• turbulence
• unrest
• upheaval
• uproar