Words / C2

foh-MENT/fəʊˈment/

Foment means stir up trouble or unrest (formal): foment unrest, foment a strike. Provoke and stir up are everyday; incite is a legal cousin. Ferment as a verb is chemical bubbling, or (metaphor) a state of agitation — related image, different usual collocation (ferment of ideas vs foment unrest). Do not foment a cake.

Meaning

To stir up trouble, unrest, or ill feeling (formal).

Examples

• “The leaflet was accused of fomenting a walkout.”
• “The pamphlet was accused of fomenting a walkout rather than describing one.”
• “Heat ferments the mash; agitators foment a crowd — keep the collocations.”

Good to know

Stir up trouble (formal). Everyday: stir up. Legal cousin: incite. Mix-up: ferment (chemical / a ferment of ideas).

Near in meaning

incite

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