foment
Use Foment in a sentence
verb (used with object)
1.
to instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the growth or development of: to foment trouble; to foment discontent.
2.
to apply warm water or medicated liquid, ointments, etc., to (the surface of the body).
Origin:
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
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
Related forms
fo·ment·er, noun
un·fo·ment·ed, adjective
Synonyms
1. incite, provoke, arouse, inflame, excite, stir up; encourage, stimulate.
1. incite, provoke, arouse, inflame, excite, stir up; encourage, stimulate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To foment
00:10
Foment
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is penitent. Does it mean:
| like a churl; boorish; rude: |
| feeling or expressing sorrow for sin or wrongdoing and disposed to atonement and amendment; repentant; contrite. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
foment (fəˈmɛnt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 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 |
| [C15: from Late Latin fōmentāre, from Latin fōmentum a poultice, ultimately from fovēre to foster] | |
| 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 | |
| fomentation | |
| —n | |
| fo'menter | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
foment
c.1400 (implied in fomentation), from M.Fr. fomenter, from L.L. fomentare, from L. fomentum "warm application, poultice," from fovere "to warm, cherish, encourage." Extended sense of "stimulate, instigate" (1620s) was in the French. Related: Fomented; fomenting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Prevention of abusive practices that foment litigation.
Often, she seems to want to foment conflict, as if she were arranging toy soldiers on a wee battlefield.
It is believed that rural politicians took advantage of the holiday to foment violence to further their own agendas.
Any less clear standard will either foment litigation or create disincentives to repurchase for goodwill reasons.
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