fomentation
Americannoun
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encouragement of discord, rebellion, etc.; instigation.
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the application of warm liquid, ointments, etc., to the surface of the body.
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the liquid, ointments, etc., so applied.
Etymology
Origin of fomentation
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin fōmentātiōn- (stem of fōmentātiō ), equivalent to fōmentāt ( us ) (past participle of fōmentāre to foment ) + -iōn- -ion
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.
The cause of this fomentation of tourists was a gleaming, new, $750,000 Latter-day Saints Temple.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Concerned that Fanny was not improving, Emma and Elizabeth sent for the apothecary, a Mr. B., who “ordered fomentation with poppy heads,” Emma noted.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
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Should not this treatment give relief, make a fomentation of hops, and apply it to the belly; and give half an ounce of manna.
From The American Reformed Cattle Doctor by Dadd, George
Could a warm bath made of decoction of bark, or a cold fomentation with it, be of service?
From Zoonomia, Vol. II Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Darwin, Erasmus
By twisting the sticks in the opposite direction the fomentation can be wrung very dry.
From Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts by Bacon, Josephine Dodge Daskam
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.