The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Foment \Fo"ment\, n.
   1. Fomentation.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   2. State of excitation; -- perh. confused with ferment.

            He came in no conciliatory mood, and the foment was
            kept up.                              --Julian
                                                  Ralph.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Foment \Fo*ment"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fomented; p. pr. & vb.
   n. Fomenting.] [F. fomenter, fr. L. fomentare, fr. fomentum
   (for fovimentum) a warm application or lotion, fr. fovere to
   warm or keep warm; perh. akin to Gr. ? to roast, and E.
   bake.]
   1. To apply a warm lotion to; to bathe with a cloth or sponge
      wet with warm water or medicated liquid.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To cherish with heat; to foster. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            Which these soft fires . . . foment and warm.
                                                  --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   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. --Locke.
      [1913 Webster]

            But quench the choler you foment in vain. --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

            Exciting and fomenting a religious rebellion.
                                                  --Southey.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

foment
    v 1: try to stir up public opinion [syn: agitate, foment,
         stir up]
    2: bathe with warm water or medicated lotions; "His legs should
       be fomented"

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

202 Moby Thesaurus words for "foment":
   abate, abet, advance, agitate, agitation, allay, alleviate,
   anesthetize, annoy, appease, arouse, assuage, awake, awaken,
   benumb, blow the coals, blow up, bluster, bobbery, boil, boiling,
   brouhaha, bustle, call forth, call up, chafe, churn, commotion,
   conturbation, cook, cultivate, cushion, deaden, deaden the pain,
   diminish, discomposure, disorder, disquiet, disquietude,
   disturbance, dull, ease, ease matters, ebullition, egg on,
   electric-heat, embroilment, encourage, enkindle, enrage, excite,
   excitement, fan, fan the fire, fan the flame, feed the fire,
   ferment, fermentation, fever, feverishness, fidgets, fire, fire up,
   flame, flap, flurry, fluster, flutteration, forward, foster,
   frenzy, fume, further, fuss, galvanize, gas-heat, give relief,
   goad, heat, heat up, hot, hot up, hot-air-heat, hot-water-heat,
   hubbub, hurly-burly, impassion, incense, incite, inflame,
   infuriate, initiate, inquietude, inspire, instigate, jitters,
   jumpiness, key up, kindle, lather up, lay, lessen, light the fuse,
   light up, lull, madden, maelstrom, malaise, mitigate, moil,
   mollify, motivate, move, mull, nerviness, nervosity, nervousness,
   nettle, numb, nurse, nurture, overexcite, overheat, pad, palliate,
   perturbation, pique, poultice, pour balm into, pour oil on,
   preheat, promote, prompt, provoke, put up to, raise, rally, recook,
   reduce, reheat, relieve, restlessness, roil, rouse, rout, row,
   salve, seethe, seething, set, set astir, set fire to, set on,
   set on fire, sic on, slacken, slake, soften, soothe, spur, start,
   steam, steam up, stimulate, stir, stir the blood, stir the embers,
   stir the feelings, stir up, stoke up, stupe, subdue, summon up,
   superheat, swirl, tepefy, tickle, to-do, trepidation, trepidity,
   tumult, tumultuation, turbidity, turbulence, turmoil, turn on,
   twitter, unease, unrest, upset, urge, wake, wake up, waken, warm,
   warm over, warm the blood, warm up, whet, whip up, work into,
   work up