Meaning & use
Fomentation
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The act of encouraging or instigating something, especially trouble or discontent; also, the medical application of warmth and moisture to ease pain or inflammation.
See it in a sentence
Historians point to years of economic hardship as fomentation for the uprising.
The nurse applied a fomentation to the swollen joint to relieve the pain.
A note on using this word
Comes from Latin 'fomentum', a soothing application, which explains why the word covers both stirring up trouble and soothing pain.
Words with a similar meaning
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Words with an opposite meaning
Another way to use it
2. noun
A warm, moist compress or lotion applied to the body to relieve pain.
She prepared a fomentation of warm herbs for his aching back.
Make it your own
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