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

• fomentation noun
• fomenter noun
• unfomented adjective

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

Generally, jackbooted people in uniform will take you out of your life at a purposefully planned “bad time” to foment maximum anxiety and shame and to generate complete psychological surrender.

From Salon

Most Arab governments have little love lost on Iran, which they view as an unruly neighbor fomenting unrest in their own backyards.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s Exhibit A for those accusing her of fomenting violent protests.

From Los Angeles Times

“The actions of this administration foment hate,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, a Democrat, told a meeting last month of the state’s Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention.

From Salon

These paths are already fomenting tension between Trump, who will not be visiting Israel on his Middle East trip, and a recalcitrant Netanyahu.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• abet 
• arouse 
• brew 
• incite 
• whip up