as in to impose
to offer (something fake, useless, or inferior) as genuine, useful, or valuable
shopkeepers who foist shoddy souvenirs on unsuspecting tourists
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of foist
Low-pressure regions pull warmer, wet air in toward them and then foist it upward.
—
Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 21 Aug. 2025
More puzzling is that some of those debating them are conservatives who, at least in the past, would have been the first to defend businesses against price controls foisted on them from the proverbial Commanding Heights.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Will importers succeed in foisting it on foreign suppliers?
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 15 July 2025
The cost is foisted off on the commons, in the form of a parking spot occupied all day.
—Rodney Brooks, IEEE Spectrum, 27 July 2017
See All Example Sentences for foist
Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 21 Aug. 2025
More puzzling is that some of those debating them are conservatives who, at least in the past, would have been the first to defend businesses against price controls foisted on them from the proverbial Commanding Heights.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Will importers succeed in foisting it on foreign suppliers?
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 15 July 2025
The cost is foisted off on the commons, in the form of a parking spot occupied all day.
—Rodney Brooks, IEEE Spectrum, 27 July 2017
See All Example Sentences for foist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foist
Verb
-
The rub is that mandatory gratuities, the 15% to 20% that restaurants often impose on parties of six people or more, aren’t eligible for the deduction, a disappointment to the restaurant and foodservice industry, which held out hope for a different outcome.—
Cheryl Winokur Munk,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Scenes start, jarringly, without introduction or fanfare, as though we’ve been vaulted into the action; the plot resists all attempts by the viewer to impose any kind of order.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Most of the victims had execution-style wounds, some of which were inflicted with two quick shots at very close range, leaving traces of gunpowder on the bodies.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Yet a return to war by the Israeli military would extend the unimaginable suffering inflicted on the people of Gaza, and the condemnation of the international community.—
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
When things later calmed down, Mossack Fonseca did resign from some clients that wished to leave.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
-
According to a Washington Examiner poll of GOP lawmakers, 47% of Republican senators wish to keep the filibuster in place.—
Molly Parks,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foist. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share