Skip to main content
to foment

to foment

21 8.4
To cause people to start trouble or violence
  • verb
  • /foʊˈmɛnt/
  • Formal
translation icon : fomentar
  • Why is he fomenting this division and this hatred?
  • foment a rebellion
  • foment conflict
  • foment violence

The longer you wait, the more the anxiety foments and works itself up.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • And continued political tensions in Kashmir will tempt Islamabad to foment further discord.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Currently, six of ten inhabitants work in the service industries, much of this change fomented by tourism.

    Academic text (1998)
  • And if they did, it would just foment and it would cause problems and it would be, it would be bad, right?

  • And actions like these foment the threat of appropriate reactions.

  • You know, both Facebook and Twitter early on, you know, they helped, you know, foment the Arab Spring.

  • The most straightforward way to destabilize Singapore is to foment racial and religious discord.

    Academic text (1992)
  • China continues to worry that instability to its west could foment unrest in its Muslim region, Xinjiang.

    Academic text (2005)
  • While the Bolsheviks firmly established their authority at home, the Comintern fomented revolution throughout the world.

  • Louis XIV's Jesuit advisors were instrumental in fomenting the Crown's ultimately disastrous suppression of Protestantism and Jansenism.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The leaders were accused of trying to foment unrest among the citizens through inflammatory speeches.

Synonyms

to incite
vsto foment
  • NSFW
72 7.7

To push people to do violent or illegal acts

tries to encourage harmful situations to develop over time
to stir up
vsto foment
48 4.8

To make people feel strong emotions like anger or fear

focuses on encouraging trouble to grow rather than only causing emotion
to instigate
vsto foment
36 6.9

To cause something bad to start

aims to encourage harmful developments rather than directly starting them
to stir the pot
vsto foment
  • Informal
8 8.0

To cause trouble by saying things to make people argue

tends to encourage deeper or wider harmful development rather than mere provocation
to fan the flames
vsto foment
  • Informal
8 7.2

To make an argument or feeling worse by encouraging it

is more about encouraging trouble to begin and spread rather than only intensifying it
to stir trouble
vsto foment
  • Informal
5 5.3

To cause fights or problems between people on purpose

seeks to encourage longer term harmful development rather than a single act
to monger
vsto foment
4 7.7

To spread or encourage something bad, for example fear and rumors

aims to encourage harmful developments such as unrest rather than only sharing news
to inflame tensions
vsto foment
  • Literature
1 7.4

Make people more angry and cause conflict between groups

emphasizes encouraging the growth of trouble rather than just increasing hostility
to create friction
vsto foment
4.6

To cause disagreement between people or groups

focuses on provoking or encouraging larger trouble rather than mild disputes

Antonyms

2.3

Stop something from happening or someone from doing it

962 1.0

Make a person or animal less upset

How Forceful

to incite
  • NSFW
72 7.7
to instigate
36 6.9
to foment
  • Formal
21 8.4
to agitate
11 5.6
to encourage
2.3
to suggest
1.6

Surface Forms

foment infinitive
fomented past
fomented past participle
fomenting present participle
foments third person singular

Etymology

Foment once meant to warm a sore with a hot cloth, from an old word fomentum meaning 'warm dressing' and fovere meaning 'to warm'. So to foment something now is like 'heating' feelings or trouble to make them grow, which is why it means to encourage unrest or violence.