English Words in Action, Group F

1. Immediately taking place after something else: Harry's new job made it possible for him and his family to move into a new house the following year.
2. Something that is listed or shown in some kind of sequence: The restaurant had a sign which indicated that there would be meals available at the following times during the summer months.

A group of loyal people or fans: The politician's approach to health care gained a big following among the elderly.

1. To stir up or to agitate: Lorna did as much as she could to foment a quarrel between the two politicians at the political rally.
2. To provoke discontent or discord and to cause external fury: The king's enemies fomented a rebellion which resulted in the royal family being expelled from their throne. © ALL rights are reserved.
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1. To talk or to act foolishly: Mason complained that his co-workers were just being lazy and footling around.
2. To waste time, to trifle, to fool around: Too many people are much too busy footling on their computers and cell phones instead of taking care of more important issues.

The term footle is a verb originally from the nineteenth century which is still appropriate when referring to people doing foolish or insignificant things.

1. A reference to wasting time and behaving in a foolish way: Fred considered his friend a footling amateur when he played basketball.
2. Pertaining to insignificant, worthless, and even irritating behavior and words: Garret's footling contribution when working with his colleagues was considered to be useless and silly.

Karl was very upset with his wife's constant criticisms about him and he told her that she comes with the same footling complaints day after day and week after week.

1. An attempt to do something new or anything that is usually not done: Sam made a foray to write a book about his travels in France, Germany and Great Britain.

Susan was all excited about moving rhythmically to music and so her first foray was a course in ballroom dancing.

2. A sudden attack or invasion by a military unit: A nation's troops made a foray into a terrorist group's territory with the intention of freeing the citizens who were trapped there.

In the novel James was reading, a small group of hungry military men made a foray into an enemy area and stole as much food as possible.

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2: It was the first excursion or foray for little Timmy into the department store, where he found a play corner with lots of new trains and cars he didn’t know about before. Example definition #3: A quick attack or invasion by a group of soldiers into enemy territory: Example sentence #3: In the novel James was reading, the small group of hungry military men made a foray into the opposing military unit and stole as much food as possible.

To loot or to raid a place and to plunder it: During the disastrous hurricane storm, some people forayed into grocery stores ransacking everything they could find in the way of food. © ALL rights are reserved.

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1. A condition of patience and self-control: Lucy certainly had to have a lot of forbearance while raising her two boys because they were very active and sometimes quite demanding.
2. The characteristic of a person who is lenient and has indulgence: Nancy's husband appreciated her forbearance since she understood the stress that he was experiencing at work.
3. The cancellation of the enforcement of something that is outstanding or unpaid: Cindy was overjoyed when she received a letter of forbearance from the bank regarding a payment she had not made on time last month. © ALL rights are reserved.

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Descriptive of someone who shows patience, self-control, and is mild, indulgent, tolerant, and long-suffering: Tom’s parents were very forbearing during the difficult years of his teenage life when he was getting into trouble so often. © ALL rights are reserved.
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1. Characterized by a harshly uninviting or formidable behavior or appearance: Karl had a forbidding scowl, or angry expression on his face, when his wife asked him to hang up the laundry while he was watching a football game on TV.
2. Descriptive of a threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments: The forbidding thunderclouds indicated that a storm was coming. © ALL rights are reserved.
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The crime of falsely copying something in order to deceive other people into thinking it is genuine: Jack committed forgery when he faked his mother’s signature on a written excuse which he compiled and gave to his teachers for being absent the previous day. © ALL rights are reserved.

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To do without something: In order to get to the special musical presentation on time, Jim and his family had to forgo dinner until after the the concert was over. © ALL rights are reserved.

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A reference to being direct, straightforward, and honest: The forthright mother did not mince any words when she was scolding her son about breaking a window when he and his friend were throwing a ball back and forth to each other. © ALL rights are reserved.

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1. A deception deliberately practiced in order to secure an unfair or an unlawful gain: The city officials were citing inadequate measures to fight money-laundering, vote-buying, fraud, etc.
2. Someone who assumes a false pose; an impostor: The phone call from a man who claimed to be a police officer turned out to be a fraud who wanted to gain access to the elderly couple's apartment in order to rob them of their jewelry and cash.

1. A reference to something or someone that causes or is filled with a lot of emotional stress or worry: Greg's mother and father had a fraught disturbance when he appeared at dinner with green hair and said he was quitting his studies at the university and wanted to join a circus as a performer!
2. Characteristic of a circumstance that is loaded with bad or unwanted conditions: The plight of suddenly having to drive a car on the left side of the road in London can be fraught with great difficulties for anyone who has always driven on the right side before! © ALL rights are reserved.
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