ferment
Plural: ferments
Noun
- a state of agitation or turbulent change or development
- "the political ferment produced new leadership"
- a substance capable of bringing about fermentation
- a process in which an agent causes an organic substance to break down into simpler substances; especially, the anaerobic breakdown of sugar into alcohol
- Something, such as a yeast or barm, that causes fermentation.
- A state of agitation or of turbulent change.
- A gentle internal motion of the constituent parts of a fluid; fermentation.
- A catalyst.
Verb
Verb Forms: fermented, fermenting, ferments
- To cause or undergo chemical breakdown by microorganisms; to agitate.
- be in an agitated or excited state
- "The Middle East is fermenting"
- "Her mind ferments"
- work up into agitation or excitement
- "Islam is fermenting Africa"
- cause to undergo fermentation
- "We ferment the grapes for a very long time to achieve high alcohol content"
- go sour or spoil
- To react, using fermentation; especially to produce alcohol by aging or by allowing yeast to act on sugars; to brew.
- To stir up, agitate, cause unrest or excitement in.
Examples
- The new strategy caused the game to FERMENT, leading to an unpredictable outcome.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English ferment, from Middle French ferment, from Latin fermentāre (“to leaven, ferment”), from fermentum (“substance causing fermentation”), from fervēre (“to boil, seethe”). See also fervent.
Synonyms
agitation, fermentation, fermenting, sour, tempestuousness, turn, unrest, work, zymolysis, zymosis, yeast
Scrabble Score: 12
ferment: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordferment: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
ferment: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary