Fo·ment v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fomented; p. pr. & vb. n. Fomenting.]
1. To apply a warm lotion to; to bathe with a cloth or sponge wet with warm water or medicated liquid.
2. To cherish with heat; to foster. [Obs.]
Which these soft fires . . . foment and warm. --Milton.
3. 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.
But quench the choler you foment in vain. --Dryden.
Exciting and fomenting a religious rebellion. --Southey.