foment

[foh-ment]

verb (used with object)

1. to instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the growth or development of.

   to foment trouble; to foment discontent.

   Synonyms: stimulate, encourage, excite, inflame, arouse, provoke, incite

2. to apply warm water or medicated liquid, ointments, etc., to (the surface of the body).

foment

/ ˌfəʊmɛnˈteɪʃən, fəˈmɛnt /

verb

1. to encourage or instigate (trouble, discord, etc); stir up

2. 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

• fomenter noun
• unfomented adjective
• fomentation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of foment¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of foment¹

C15: from Late Latin fōmentāre , from Latin fōmentum a poultice, ultimately from fovēre to foster

Example Sentences

But it’s the lack of transparency and the 11-month delay in reporting the reading that has fomented community mistrust and raised questions regarding the military’s competency to safely clean up the polluted shipyard.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He condemned Fuentes, saying he was “fomenting Jew hatred, and his incitements are not only immoral and un-Christian, they risk violence.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It doesn’t “conceal its funding sources and operations,” and it certainly isn’t involved in “spreading, fomenting, and advancing political violence and suppressing lawful political speech.”

Read more on Salon

They've also uncovered a plot to foment violent unrest, detaining dozens of men who travelled to Serbia for training including in the use of firearms.

Read more on BBC

His extradition comes days before Sunday's parliamentary elections, with President Maia Sandu warning that Moldova's independence and European future are in danger because of attempts by Russia to foment violence and spread disinformation.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• abet 
• arouse 
• brew 
• incite 
• whip up