foment
English · Thesaurus
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foment
- /fəʊˈmɛnt/ UK
- /foʊˈmɛnt/ US
- /fəˈmɛnt/ US
Sounds like ferment (in some dialects, unstressed) · Rhymes with -ɛnt
Where it comes from
From Middle English fomenten, a borrowing from Old French fomenter, from Late Latin fōmentāre, from Latin fōmentum (“lotion”), from fovēre (“heat, cherish”).
verb foments · fomenting · fomented
-
To incite or cause troublesome acts; to encourage; to instigate.
He was arrested for fomenting a riot; after all, it's bad enough being in a riot but starting one is much worse.
Similar: bring about, provoke, abet, actuate, goose, fuel, light a fire under, send, sting, cheer, draw, drive
- To apply a poultice to; to bathe with a cloth or sponge. Sties in the eye are irritating and disfiguring. Foment with warm water; at night apply a bread-and-milk poultice.
noun foments
- Fomentation. He came in no conciliatory mood, and the foment was kept up.
Translations
Every language
verb to incite or cause
| Español | fomentar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 醸成する jōsei suru, 胎動する taidō suru |
| 中文 | 煽動 /煽动 shāndòng |
| Português | fomentar |
| Français | fomenter |
| Deutsch | fördern |
| Italiano | fomentare |
| Русский | провоци́ровать provocírovatʹ, побужда́ть pobuždátʹ, подстрека́ть podstrekátʹ, разжига́ть razžigátʹ |
| עברית | עודד odéd, חרחר khirkhér |
verb (medicine) to apply a poultice to
| Español | fomentar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 敷藥 /敷药 fūyào |
| Русский | класть примо́чки и́ли припа́рки klastʹ primóčki íli pripárki |
Talk about this word "foment." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/foment. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. foment. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/foment "foment." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/foment.Cite this
@misc{foment_2026,
title = {foment},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/foment},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
