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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ferments,
present (3rd person singular)
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fermented,
past participle, past
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fermenting
present participle
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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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ferments,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fermented,
past participle, past
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fermenting
present participle
-
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
Derived Forms
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fermentabilitynoun
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fermenternoun
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nonfermentabilitynoun
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fermentableadjective
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nonfermentableadjective
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nonfermentedadjective
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nonfermentingadjective
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unfermentableadjective
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unfermentedadjective
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unfermentingadjective
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well-fermentedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fermentsimple
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fermentssimple
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have fermentedperfect
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has fermentedperfect
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am fermentingprogressive
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are fermentingprogressive
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is fermentingprogressive
-
have been fermentingperfect progressive
-
has been fermentingperfect progressive
Past
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fermentedsimple
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had fermentedperfect
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was fermentingprogressive
-
were fermentingprogressive
-
had been fermentingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
"Any transport delay can risk ruining the batch. If it takes longer than 24 hours, the internal sugars begin to rot and ferment unpredictably, destroying the delicate flavour profile needed for premium spirits," says Dhariwal.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
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
For that sugar to then ferment and produce alcohol, the person giving the sample would also need to have a yeast infection, she wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
When they ferment sugars, they create tiny outward flowing currents across the wet surface.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2026
She felt that Joan was being intellectually stimulated at home, but that the creative ferment she always attempted to foster was having little effect on Bobby.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Soon, this liquid ferments into a tangy beverage with a touch of viscosity, somewhat like Mexico’s pulque.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Kombucha is made when a SCOBY, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, ferments sweetened tea.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
Using an assembler in Germany, it takes grape juice, ferments it with bacteria which does not produce alcohol, and adds Chinese green tea to offer complexity and tannins.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
As it ferments, N. intermedia takes on an "earthy, floral quality," von Hagn noted, and cooking it provides "a cheesy, deeply savory, mushroom-y flavor and aroma."
From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2024
Cells of all sorts are commonly likened to biochemical factories, busy ferments in which dozens of mechanisms are working away in complex sequences that are half Rube Goldberg, half ballet.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
So the Caesar-ish dressing here is intentionally concentrated: cream cheese for body, Kewpie for tang and richness, and a dab of white miso for the salty, fermented funk that anchovy ordinarily brings to Caesar.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Raw and fermented milk is more widely drunk in rural areas.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The concoction has a slightly fermented aftertaste and is popular in Italy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
On a sidewalk in a middle-class neighborhood of Colima city, the Bejarano family is selling tuba, a refreshing fermented drink made from the fresh, sweet sap of the coconut palm tree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
The tuna salad her mother had given her was warm and mildly fermented by the time lunch rolled around.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Others are roasting or fermenting agricultural waste products, to transform them into good-enough substitutes in flavor and texture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
At his factory west of Tokyo, workers in hygienic uniforms wash, steam -- and lavishly spray bacteria on -- soybeans that machines then meticulously assemble in cups, before fermenting them for 18 hours.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
Most nectar samples contained only trace amounts, likely produced by yeast fermenting sugars.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 25, 2026
That meant that urine samples with high sugar content could have started fermenting and consequently generated alcohol that could have skewed the test result or created a false positive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
Thus he established an alternative to spontaneous generation—the notion that life could rise, in fermenting grape juice or rotting meat, entirely independent of preexisting life.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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