Foment   (pronounced foh-ment or foh-ment) verb


Definition

to promote the growth or development of (something undesirable, and usually through persistent efforts and over a considerable period of time); instigate or incite; stir up.

Main Example

  • Do you remember Terry Waite, the hostage-negotiator and special envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury who himself was taken hostage by extremists in 1987 and held captive for five years? In a BBC interview last month, Waite described Jerry Falwell's recent statement on "60 Minutes" about prophet Muhammad being a terrorist as "unhelpful." (Falwell apologized a few days after that "60 Minutes" aired.) Such comments cannot but foment further discord and mistrust between Christians and Muslims, said Waite.

    Workplace Examples

  • Somebody's been trying to foment the idea among the employees that this store is up for closure, which is not true. So my priority for now is to squelch these fears.

  • The other night, ABC aired a piece about a group that is fomenting a sort of rebellion against the IRS, telling everyone that the Constitution does not require them to pay taxes. I believe thousands of gullible people have fallen for this crap and come to grief.

    Other Examples

  • somebody who has fomented disputes, misunderstanding, or restlessness among workers; firing a disgruntled employee who has become a fomenter of disorder and work disruptions in the factory

  • in the Middle East, both Jewish and Muslim religious leaders fomenting hate against the other side, thus contributing to the non-stop violence there; in Congress, one political party accusing the other of trying to foment "class warfare" and social divisions

  • Planned Parenthood urging the government to shut down an anti-abortion Web site, saying it is a fomenter of violence against doctors who perform abortions because it lists their names and addresses and brands them as "baby butchers"

  • several communities banning pornographic literature sales because they believe such materials foment immoral acts

    © 2002 V.J. Singal

    This Month's Other Words

    Rumination
    Vituperative
    Predilection
    Sycophantic
    Intemperate and Temperate
    Disaffection
    Disavow

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