as in inflicting
to offer (something fake, useless, or inferior) as genuine, useful, or valuable
shopkeepers who foist shoddy souvenirs on unsuspecting tourists
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of foisting
The suit, filed in late December by the New Mexico attorney general’s office, is the latest salvo in the state’s fight against oil and gas executives accused of foisting old wells onto the public.
—
Mark Olalde, ProPublica, 22 Jan. 2026
Thirsty attendees jostled through the rooms, foisting their shoulders through a sea of supplicants, holding out their glasses for a few precious drops of carbonic Trousseau, or Xarel-lo pet-nat, or ramato Pinot Gris, or whole-cluster Marquette.
—Senior Wine Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Mar. 2018
Mark Olalde, ProPublica, 22 Jan. 2026
Thirsty attendees jostled through the rooms, foisting their shoulders through a sea of supplicants, holding out their glasses for a few precious drops of carbonic Trousseau, or Xarel-lo pet-nat, or ramato Pinot Gris, or whole-cluster Marquette.
—Senior Wine Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foisting
Verb
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Any mission would likely first focus on opening the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which a fifth of seaborne global oil flowed before the war but which has now slowed to a trickle, inflicting the biggest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.—
Patrick Sykes,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
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Traffic through the strait has fallen by 90% since the start of the Iran war, sending global oil prices skyrocketing and inflicting alarming shortages on the Asian nations that get their oil from Persian Gulf countries via the strait.—
David McHugh,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The city agreed, reducing maximum e-bike speeds to 15 mph on city trails, prohibiting e-bikes on sidewalks and imposing penalties.—
Sarah Raza,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
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But Trump’s election proved that a sizable contingent of the population had no problem imposing their values on others—and even hoped that the government might do so for them.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Amazon customers wishing to make a return start the process online.—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
26 Mar. 2026
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For voters wishing to participate in the special election, the last day to register is Monday, April 20, 2026.—
CBS News Atlanta Staff,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Foisting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foisting. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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