foist

verb \ ˈfȯist \

|Updated on: 21 Aug 2018

Examples: foist in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of foist

foisted; foisting; foists

transitive verb

1 a : to introduce or insert surreptitiously or without warrant

b : to force another to accept especially by stealth or deceit

when the states … foist unnecessary expenses on local taxpayers
—T. C. Desmond

2 : to pass off as genuine or worthy

foist costly and valueless products on the public
—Jonathan Spivak

… inferior caviar has been foisted on an unknowing public …
—David Rosengarten

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Examples of foist in a Sentence

shopkeepers who foist shoddy souvenirs on unsuspecting tourists

Recent Examples of foist from the Web

Gee says the effort attempts to foist responsibility on the court for the president’s ‘‘ill-considered’’ action and Congress’ failure to take action.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Judge denies Trump request to detain migrant families together," 10 July 2018
Trump has mastered both ducking blame and foisting it on others.

— sarah binder, Washington Post, "Immigration boiled over last week. Here’s what Congress did — and why.," 25 June 2018
One or two might luck to find a superstar or two among their current prospects, but the hope of that must be augmented by a scary word that might find Jeter and Sherman recoiling like vampires foisted into sunlight.

— greg cote, miamiherald, "Jeter impatient for Marlins to win? It will take bold action, but here's what he can do | Miami Herald," 18 May 2018
Baranski’s character is a monster matriarch, hell-bent on foisting a very specific vision of the perfect holiday onto Kunis’s character and her kids.

— adam lukach, RedEye Chicago, "The cast of 'A Bad Moms Christmas' talk society's expectations of mothers and self-care," 9 Nov. 2017
The changes foisted more of the costs onto the parties.

— david nakamura, Washington Post, "Trump, in a tweet, gives voice to unspoken truth about presidential travel," 18 Jan. 2018
Vivendi is instead beset by both rising political opposition (Mr Berlusconi is again influential) and an attack by Elliot Advisors, an activist hedge fund set on foisting a new board on TI at a shareholder meeting on May 4th.

— The Economist, "One of France’s best-known tycoons is arrested," 28 Apr. 2018
Hope is Trump's 29-year-old communications director, foisted into the high-profile role after Sean Spcier, Michael Dubke and Anthony Scaramucci all held and lost the title within Trump's first year.

— josh hafner, USA TODAY, "OnPolitics Today: 'I like taking guns away early,' Trump says, pushing back on due process," 28 Feb. 2018
The Super Bowl halftime, these days, is the ultimate stadium rock gig; alas, the NFL spent that golden era of denim foisting smooth jazz and standards on the masses.

— mark bechtel, SI.com, "OUT: Carol Channing. IN: Led Zeppelin ... We Recast Every Super Bowl Halftime Show," 31 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'foist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

An early sense of the word foist, now obsolete, referred to palming a phony die and secretly introducing it into a game at an opportune time. The action involved in this cheating tactic reflects the etymology of foist. The word is believed to derive from the obsolete Dutch verb vuisten, meaning "to take into one's hand." "Vuisten" in turn comes from "vuyst," the Middle Dutch word for "fist" which itself is distantly related to the Old English ancestor of "fist." By the late 16th century "foist" was being used in English to mean "to insert surreptitiously," and it quickly acquired the meaning "to force another to accept by stealth or deceit."