Foment

//fəʊˈmɛnt// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Fomentation.

    "He came in no conciliatory mood, and the foment was kept up."

Verb
  1. 1
    To incite or cause troublesome acts; to encourage; to instigate. transitive

    "He was arrested for fomenting a riot; after all, it's bad enough being in a riot but starting one is much worse."

  2. 2
    bathe with warm water or medicated lotions wordnet
  3. 3
    To apply a poultice to; to bathe with a cloth or sponge. transitive

    "The maid had entered with us, and began once more to foment the bruise upon her mistress's brow."

  4. 4
    try to stir up public opinion wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
agitatestir upabateaberrationabetabet

Antonyms

All antonyms
abate

Example

More examples

"The request for more American assistance could foment a diplomatic crisis with China."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English fomenten, a borrowing from Old French fomenter, from Late Latin fōmentāre, from Latin fōmentum (“lotion”), from fovēre (“heat, cherish”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English foment, from Latin fōmentum.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.