Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of foment

50 similar words

Another word for foment is encourage. Other synonyms of foment are push, stimulate, urge, motivate and promote.

Synonyms and similar words for foment

verbTo incite or cause troublesome acts; to encourage; to instigate.

  • bring aboutTo cause to take place.
  • provokeTo bring about a reaction.
  • actuateTo incite to action; to motivate.
  • goose
  • fuel
  • light a fire underTo motivate or encourage (someone) to start sooner or move faster.
  • send
  • sting
  • drawTo attract or provoke (a particular reaction or response) from someone.
  • driveTo motivate; to provide an incentive for.
  • encourageTo mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
  • egg onTo encourage or coax (a person) to do something, especially something foolhardy or reckless.
  • engenderTo bring into existence (a situation, quality, result etc.); to give rise to, cause, create.
  • evokeTo elicit a response.
  • exciteTo arouse or bring out (e.g. feelings); to stimulate.
  • goadTo incite or provoke.
  • ignite figurativelyTo spark off (something), to trigger.
  • impelTo urge a person; to press on; to incite to action or motion via intrinsic motivation.
  • incite
  • induceTo cause, bring about, lead to.
  • inflame figurativelyTo excite or intensify (a feeling, such as an appetite or passion), especially to an excessive or unnatural level.
  • instigateTo bring about by urging or encouraging.
  • invokeTo bring about as an inevitable consequence.
  • lash
  • motiveTo prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.
  • motivateTo provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate.
  • obligate
  • oblige
  • pushTo continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a particular course of action.
  • promoteTo encourage, urge or incite.
  • promptTo initiate; to cause or lead to.
  • rouseTo provoke (someone) to react (for example, in anger or annoyance); to spur; also, to annoy, to tease.
  • set offTo begin; to cause; to initiate.
  • spark offTo initiate something by providing the necessary conditions.
  • spurTo urge or encourage to action, or to a more vigorous pursuit of an object.
  • spur onTo spur or urge (someone) to do something.
  • stimulateTo encourage into action.
  • stirTo incite to action.
  • stir upTo arouse or excite (passion or action, etc.).
  • stoke figuratively
  • temptTo provoke something; to court.
  • urgeTo put mental pressure on; to ply with motives, arguments, persuasion, or importunity.
  • whip upTo arouse or excite.
  • abet obsoleteTo urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable.
  • cheer obsoleteTo encourage to do something.
  • grill Scotland, USTo make angry; provoke; offend, incite.
  • move obsoleteTo incite, urge (someone to do something); to solicit (someone for or of an issue); to make a proposal to.
  • whet obsoleteTo inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.).

verbTo apply a poultice to; to bathe with a cloth or sponge.

  • beathTo bathe (with warm liquid); foment.
  • poulticeTo treat with a poultice.

Meaning of foment

  1. verb To incite or cause troublesome acts; to encourage; to instigate.
  2. verb To apply a poultice to; to bathe with a cloth or sponge.
  3. noun Fomentation.

Full definition of foment

foment in other languages

Questions about synonyms of foment

What is another word for foment?
Foment has 50 synonyms on Word.ws, such as encourage, push, stimulate, urge, motivate, promote, spur and induce.
What does foment mean?
Foment means to incite or cause troublesome acts; to encourage; to instigate.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: foment (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of foment.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/foment. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.