foment
Meaning: To instigate, encourage, or stir up trouble, unrest, or rebellion, typically through deliberate agitation.
Foment is almost always pejorative and collocates with negative outcomes — one foments discord, rebellion, hatred, unrest, or revolution. The agent who foments is typically acting deliberately and provocatively, seeking to incite others to action. In medical usage (now rare), fomenting means applying warm compresses to the body, which preserves the original heat metaphor. The word is standard in political journalism and historical writing, and often appears in accusations: 'accused of fomenting unrest.'
Examples
- Intelligence agencies accused a foreign state of fomenting unrest among disaffected minority communities. 情报机构指控一个外国在不满的少数族群中煽动动乱。Los servicios de inteligencia acusaron a un Estado extranjero de fomentar disturbios entre comunidades minoritarias descontentas.情報機関は、ある外国が不満を持つ少数派コミュニティの間で騒乱を煽っていると非難した。정보 기관은 외국이 불만을 품은 소수 민족 공동체 사이에서 소요를 조장하고 있다고 비난했다.
- The pamphlets were designed to foment opposition to the new tax among the merchant classes. 这些小册子旨在煽动商人阶层反对新税收。Los panfletos estaban diseñados para fomentar la oposición al nuevo impuesto entre las clases mercantiles.そのパンフレットは、商人階級の間で新税への反対を煽動するために作られたものだった。그 전단지는 상인 계층 사이에서 새로운 세금에 대한 반대를 선동하기 위해 제작된 것이었다.
- Social media platforms have been criticised for allowing extremists to foment hatred and radicalisation online. 社交媒体平台因允许极端分子在网上散播仇恨和激进思想而受到批评。Las plataformas de redes sociales han sido criticadas por permitir que los extremistas fomenten el odio y la radicalización en línea.ソーシャルメディアのプラットフォームは、過激主義者がオンラインで憎悪と過激化を煽ることを許容しているとして批判を受けている。소셜 미디어 플랫폼은 극단주의자들이 온라인에서 혐오와 급진화를 부추기는 것을 방치하고 있다는 비판을 받고 있다.
Pronunciation
Usage Guide
Context: journalism, politics, academic
Tone: negative
Origin & History
From Latin fomentare (to apply a warm poultice), from fomentum (a poultice, nourishment), from fovere (to warm, cherish). The figurative sense of stirring up trouble developed in English in the 17th century from the idea of warming or nurturing discontent.
Cultural Context
Era: Modern
Generation: All ages
Social background: Universal
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