Meaning of foment | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To incite or cause troublesome acts; to encourage; to instigate.
   transitive
2. To apply a poultice to; to bathe with a cloth or sponge.
   transitive
3. To stir to action or feeling:egg on, excite, galvanize, goad, impel, incite, inflame, inspire, instigate, motivate, move, pique, prick, prod, prompt, propel, provoke, set off, spur, stimulate, touch off, trigger, work up.
4. To arouse or incite (trouble, for example).
5. To treat (the skin, for example) by fomentation.
6. to encourage or instigate (trouble, discord, etc); stir up
7. (Medicine) med to apply heat and moisture to (a part of the body) to relieve pain and inflammation
   med
8. to instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the growth or development of: to foment trouble.
9. to apply warm water or medicated liquid, ointments, etc., to (the surface of the body).
10. vt trouble, discord → schüren; (Med) → mit feuchten Umschlägen behandeln
    vt trouble, discord

Equivalents

Examples

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

“Foreign governments have tried to foment unrest.”

“The factor which had caused the militant five per cent to relax awhile from fomenting discord was the satellites. Sustained research in rocketry had at last succeeded in attaining one of its objectives. It had sent up a missile which stayed up.”

“Blogjects always have some form of agency — they can foment action and participate; they have an assertive voice within the social web.”

“Boris Johnson and senior Conservative ministers have vigorously condemned the violence in Washington, but have largely steered clear of condemning Trump for fomenting it.”

““Indignation foments extreme behaviour,” the director says of a film he believes will leave audiences wondering: “How far will people go as a result of their anger?””

“As figures like Warsi took to the TV and podcast studios the politicians who are normally most vocal when there are divisions to be fomented and culture wars to be fought went awol.”

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

CEFR level