ferment
Americannoun
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Also called organized ferment. any of a group of living organisms, as yeasts, molds, and certain bacteria, that cause fermentation.
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Also called unorganized ferment. an enzyme.
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agitation; unrest; excitement; commotion; tumult.
The new painters worked in a creative ferment.
The capital lived in a political ferment.
verb (used with object)
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to act upon as a ferment.
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to cause to undergo fermentation.
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to inflame; foment.
to ferment prejudiced crowds to riot.
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to cause agitation or excitement in.
Reading fermented his active imagination.
verb (used without object)
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to be fermented; undergo fermentation.
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to seethe with agitation or excitement.
noun
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any agent or substance, such as a bacterium, mould, yeast, or enzyme, that causes fermentation
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another word for fermentation
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commotion; unrest
verb
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to undergo or cause to undergo fermentation
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to stir up or seethe with excitement
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ferment
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. ); cf. fervent
Explanation
The word ferment means a commotion or excitement. Consider that the fermentation that turns juice or grain into alcohol is the result of the agitated development of bacteria, and then you can better appreciate the word's meaning. While you might be more familiar with the verb ferment, referring to the natural process that produces alcohol, the word is also used as a noun, giving the same type of boiling emotion to people or events. If you keep in mind that the root of the word is fevere, meaning "to boil or seethe," you get a vivid picture of the ferment experienced at a political rally where tempers run high.
Vocabulary lists containing ferment
"My Wonder Horse," Vocabulary from the short story
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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Don't Panic! Synonyms for "Stress"
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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.
With the help of large handheld food mixers, they carefully grind the mixture of dried Californian grapes and water, which they then ferment before distilling it in a large still imported from Germany.
From Barron's • May 2, 2026
Producers roast the rounded hearts of agave plants in fire pits or kilns, then crush and ferment the cooked material before distilling it in smaller batches.
From Science Daily • Apr. 26, 2026
Most modern artists, famously Picasso, left their home turf for some center of creative ferment, finding their voices there.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2025
An inquiring fan might want to go to Will Hermes’ 2011 book “Love Goes to Buildings on Fire” for a more nuanced and knowledgeable portrait of the creative ferment that made the Heads possible.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2025
My thoughts were in a ferment; I barely knew what to say.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
