What does "foment" mean?
Foment: To cherish with heat; to foster. [Obs.] Which these soft fires . . . foment and warm. Milton.
Additional senses
- 2.To nurse to life or activity; to cherish and promote by excitements; to encourage; to abet; to instigate; -- used often in a bad sense; as, to foment ill humors. Locke. But quench the choler you foment in vain. Dryden. Exciting and fomenting a religious rebellion. Southey.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00