foster
- to promote the growth or development of; further; encourage: to foster new ideas.
- to bring up, raise, or rear, as a foster child.
- to care for or cherish.
- British. to place (a child) in a foster home.
- Obsolete. to feed or nourish.
Origin of foster
Synonyms for foster
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
Antonyms for foster
Related Words for fostered
feed, advance, champion, uphold, harbor, cherish, serve, back, encourage, nurse, forward, further, nurture, stimulate, cultivate, foment, nourish, raise, favor, obligeExamples from the Web for fostered
Contemporary Examples of fostered
Wales fostered a loose system of collective management, in which he played guide and gentle prodder but not boss.
In the art world, it is fostered by an incessant rain of numbers in the media whenever an art star comes to its attention.
It has always been the case that churches, synagogues and mosques have fostered compassionate care for the unfortunate.
And he's no longer welcome at SCDP, the firm he founded and fostered.
Jon Hamm on the Final Season of ‘Mad Men’ and the Advice He Got From Bryan Cranston and Tina FeyAndrew Romano
April 14, 2014
He died from a culture of gross, proud ignorance, fostered by a ridiculous prohibition that makes us all less safe.
Denver Teen Fell From a Balcony After Eating a Marijuana Cookie, but Don’t Blame the DrugValerie Vande Panne
April 7, 2014
Historical Examples of fostered
The divine appetite once fostered, let it select its own food.
Alice, or The Mysteries, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
They said it "poisoned the soil" and fostered the growth of weeds.
The Age of InventionHolland Thompson
We have—you have disproved the love I was so presumptuous as to believe you fostered for me.
Bardelys the MagnificentRafael Sabatini
Yet I blame not thee, but thy Sicilian mother, who has fostered this hostility in thee.
The Sea-HawkRaphael Sabatini
Hence a whole world of falsehood and dissimulation was fostered.
St. Patrick's EveCharles James Lever
foster
- to promote the growth or development of
- to bring up (a child, etc); rear
- to cherish (a plan, hope, etc) in one's mind
- mainly British
- to place (a child) in the care of foster parents
- to bring up under fosterage
- (in combination) indicating relationship through fostering and not through birthfoster mother; foster child
- (in combination) of or involved in the rearing of a child by persons other than his natural or adopted parentsfoster home
Word Origin for foster
Foster
- Jodie . born 1962, US film actress and director: her films include Taxi Driver (1976), The Accused (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1990), Little Man Tate (1991; also directed), Nell (1995), and Panic Room (2002)
- Norman, Baron. born 1935, British architect. His works include the Willis Faber building (1978) in Ipswich, Stansted Airport, Essex (1991), Chek Lap Kok Airport, Hong Kong (1998), the renovation of the Reichstag, Berlin (1999), and City Hall, London (2002)
- Stephen Collins . 1826–64, US composer of songs such as The Old Folks at Home and Oh Susanna
Word Origin and History for fostered
foster
Old English *fostrian "to supply with food, nourish, support," from fostor "food, nourishment, bringing up," from Proto-Germanic *fostrom, from root *foth-/*fod- (see food).
Meaning "to bring up a child with parental care" is from c.1200; that of "to encourage or help grow" is early 13c. of things; 1560s of feelings, ideas, etc. Old English also had the adjective meaning "in the same family but not related," in fostorfæder, etc. Related: Fostered; fostering.