foment
Americanverb (used with object)
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foments,
present (3rd person singular)
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fomented,
past participle, past
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fomenting
present participle
verb
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to encourage or instigate (trouble, discord, etc); stir up
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med to apply heat and moisture to (a part of the body) to relieve pain and inflammation
Usage
Both foment and ferment can be used to talk about stirring up trouble: he was accused of fomenting/fermenting unrest . Only ferment can be used intransitively or as a noun: his anger continued to ferment (not foment ); rural areas were unaffected by the ferment in the cities
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fomentsimple
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fomentssimple
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have fomentedperfect
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has fomentedperfect
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am fomentingprogressive
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are fomentingprogressive
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is fomentingprogressive
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have been fomentingperfect progressive
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has been fomentingperfect progressive
Past
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fomentedsimple
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had fomentedperfect
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was fomentingprogressive
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were fomentingprogressive
-
had been fomentingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of foment
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fomenten, from Late Latin fōmentāre, verbal derivative of Latin fōmentum “soothing application, poultice,” contraction of unattested fōvimentum, equivalent to fōv(ēre) “to keep warm” + -i- -i- + -mentum -ment
Explanation
Stand outside the school cafeteria passing out flyers with nutritional details on school food, and you may foment a revolution — foment means stirring up something undesirable, such as trouble. You would never say, "Hooray, we fomented a revolution." Instead you'd say, "Those good for nothing scalawags fomented the rebellion." Don't confuse foment and ferment. Ferment can mean "to stir up" in a good way — a football game can ferment excitement in a town, or foment trouble through traffic tie-ups and litter.
Vocabulary lists containing foment
100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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This Week in Words: November 3 - 9, 2018
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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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:
What would it feel like if the court took seriously the idea that the American public can foment and lobby and birth constitutional meaning in their own home kitchens?
From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026
They can inflame internal and external tensions and foment uncertainty.
From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026
What I didn’t anticipate was how hard it is to fill all the void, how the loss of work anxiety would foment a new anxiety.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
Those contests, like many others, involved months of trash-talking on both sides, and often foment internal warfare.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
Even as Tisquantum attempted to foment Indian distrust of Massasoit, he told the colonists that Massasoit was going to double-cross them by leading a joint attack on Plymouth with the Narragansett.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
The text of the newly proposed Bill C-34 lists seven categories of "harmful content", which includes material bullying a child, or that foments hatred, or incites violence.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
There, sharing a theatre stage with a dozen other religious representatives, he urged all religions to live in harmony and shun ideological fundamentalism that foments violence.
From Reuters ● Sep. 3, 2023
In practice, the movement spreads falsehoods and foments conspiracy theories about evolution.
From Scientific American ● May 12, 2023
A few protesters rallied near the square where Meloni spoke, with one of them holding a sign contending the leader foments hate.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 23, 2022
Manuel de Castro, Portuguese renegade, appointed commodore of the Company's gallivats; distrusted by English captains; permits Angria's gallivats to reinforce Kennery; treachery of, punished; foments a mutiny at St. Helena; returns to Angria.
From The Pirates of Malabar, and an Englishwoman in India Two Hundred Years Ago by J. (John) Biddulph
The paranoia and fear fomented by the sweeping immigration crackdown in the Midwestern state has led many migrants -- both those with legal status and those without -- to shelter at home, campaigners say.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
Ms. Nadell is convincing that anti-Israel movements have fomented antisemitism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
The horrific images that have emerged from the area during these hellish recent months have fomented a sea change in the dialogue around it.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2025
Sure, there’s the existential dread fomented by these trying times that makes contemplating the present and future near impossible on most days that end with "y."
From Salon ● May 27, 2024
Lander’s rhetoric inflamed passions; he fomented rebellion; he was too uppity to allow to run free.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
The sheer reach of the Cyclospora parasite indicates other contributors at play, and despite expert recommendations to the contrary, it’s already fomenting a mild panic over produce.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
This is a reference to Greece, which is being accused by some of the protesters of fomenting the trouble.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
What I would say to people is if they can’t show you the evidence for the proposition that they’re fomenting, then you should not listen to them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
"It should now be clear to everyone throughout the region that decades of fomenting terrorism and extremism, jihadism and antisemitism have not worked. They haven't worked. They've been a disaster."
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2025
Mom is fomenting her own brand of anarchy closer to home.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
