Foster
/'fɔstə/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb:
- To help the development or growth of something; to encourage or promote: This is the primary meaning, referring to actively supporting the advancement of an idea, feeling, skill, or environment.
- To bring up a child that is not one's own by birth, typically for a limited time: This meaning refers to providing parental care and a home for a child without adopting them.
Adjective:
- Denoting a relationship involving the care and upbringing of a child by someone not their biological or legal parent: Used to describe the family, home, or parent in such a caring arrangement.
Usage and Examples
Verb (to promote development):
- The teacher's goal is to foster a love of learning in her students.
- The new policy aims to foster innovation within the company.
- Good communication fosters trust in a relationship.
Verb (to care for a child):
- They decided to foster two children while their parents were unable to care for them.
- Many families open their homes to foster teenagers in need.
Adjective (describing a care relationship):
- She grew up with her foster parents from the age of five.
- The child was placed in a foster home.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- Foster as a verb often implies a temporary, nurturing, or facilitating role rather than a permanent or creating one. One fosters growth, an atmosphere, or a child's well-being for a period.
- The adjective foster is almost exclusively used in the context of child-rearing and family relationships (e.g., foster child, foster family). It is not typically used as a general adjective like "supportive."
Variants and Related Words
- Fosterage (noun): The act of fostering a child; the system or state of being in foster care. (Less common in modern usage.)
- Fostering (noun/gerund): The action of fostering.
Synonyms
- Verb (promote): Encourage, nurture, stimulate, promote, cultivate, advance.
- Verb (care for): Raise, rear, bring up, care for, look after.
- Adjective: Surrogate.
Antonyms
- Verb (promote): Neglect, hinder, stifle, discourage, suppress.
- Verb (care for): Abandon, neglect.
Common Collocations and Phrases
- Foster care: The system or state of being raised by foster parents.
- Foster parent/father/mother: An adult who temporarily acts as a parent to a child not their own.
- Foster child: A child being raised by foster parents.
- Foster home: The family home where a foster child lives.
- To foster cooperation/growth/understanding: Common verb-noun pairings emphasizing development.
Adjective
- providing or receiving nurture or parental care though not related by blood or legal ties
- foster parent
- foster child
- foster home
- surrogate father
Verb
- help develop, help grow
- nurture his talents
- bring up under fosterage; of children
- promote the growth of
- Foster our children's well-being and education
Noun
- United States songwriter whose songs embody the sentiment of the South before the American Civil War (1826-1864)