foment

[ foh-ment ]

/ foʊˈmɛnt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR foment ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the growth or development of: to foment trouble; to foment discontent.

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

Words nearby foment

folsom, folsom man, folsom point, folía, fomalhaut, foment, fomentation, fomes, fomite, fomo, fomorian

Origin of foment

1350–1400; Middle English fomenten < Late Latin fōmentāre, verbal derivative of Latin fōmentum soothing application, poultice, contraction of *fōvimentum, equivalent to fōv(ēre) to keep warm + -i- -i- + -mentum -ment

SYNONYMS FOR foment

1 incite, provoke, arouse, inflame, excite, stir up; encourage, stimulate.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR foment ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM foment

fo·ment·er, nounun·fo·ment·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH foment

ferment foment

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for foment

Given all of this, Iran is apparently disinclined to foment a political rebellion against Maliki among the Shia.
How Iran and America Can Beat ISIS Together|Ben Van Heuvelen|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They can exacerbate splits within a ruling leadership, foment popular unrest, or expedite a dwindling current account.
Why Aren’t Sanctions Stopping Putin?|Meghan L. O’Sullivan|May 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Cubans claim Gross was a spy who was trying to foment revolution.
Raul Castro Reaches Out to Obama, But Don’t Call It a Thaw|Eli Lake, Josh Rogin|December 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
We tried to foment one against Hamas after it won democratic elections among the Palestinians in 2006.
What Obama Should Have Said|Peter Beinart|August 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST

He advocates instead quiet support for Iranian opposition groups that could foment regime change.
Israel’s Top Iran Expert: You Can’t Out-Negotiate the Mullahs|Dan Ephron|October 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There is one thing that would ease the pain and heal the leg all the sooner, and that is plenty of hot water to foment the part.
Heroines That Every Child Should Know|Various
The Civil Guard can keep us from rogues, but they foment dissensions and cause the ruin of the country.
The Grandee|Armando Palacio Valds
He said that these counterfeits were being spent largely by Germans to foment Bolshevist propaganda.
The Story of The American Legion|George Seay Wheat
You have excited this rebellious temper among your flocks, and now you foment it.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
They preach emigration, they send coin from the realm, they foment conspiracies against us from within and without.
History of the Girondists, Volume I|Alphonse de Lamartine

British Dictionary definitions for foment

foment

/ (fəˈmɛnt) /

verb (tr)

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

med to apply heat and moisture to (a part of the body) to relieve pain and inflammation

Derived forms of foment

fomentation (ˌfəʊmɛnˈteɪʃən), nounfomenter, noun

Word Origin for foment

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

usage for foment

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012