fester

We start talking about relationships and unhealthy withdrawal and letting things fester to the point that when the emotions come out, it feels abrupt and the other person has no idea what’s going on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

But it doesn’t get better if we just leave the bubble to fester.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

In April, the government shared their update of the Women's Health Strategy, when Health Secretary Wes Streeting said they wanted to "dismantle the culture and ingrained behaviours that allow medical misogyny to fester and grow".

From BBC ● May 11, 2026

And over six seasons, the series examined the under-explored territory that lay between two world wars—a kind of historical trench in which all manner of skullduggery could fester and bloom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026

And you left the same Band-Aid on for—God—probably thirty-seven hours by now, just letting it fester inside that warm, moist old Band-Aid.

From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green

Farmers and herders clash over land in the centre of the country while a simmering separatist movement festers in the southeast.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

By your early 70s, the anxiety festers and grows.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026

With no immediate help from officers, the fear and anxiety festers inside you.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2025

They allow listeners to call or text questions on WhatsApp, a social media platform especially popular with immigrant communities but where much of the misinformation they see festers.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 7, 2024

Now everything resonates, sticks like a splinter, festers.

From "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour

The “ignominy” of missing action, we are told, remained a “badge of shame” that festered for the rest of his life, “driving him to seek reckless vindication” in confrontations with other men of his class.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026

No amount of martyrdom can save his legacy from succumbing to the rot he festered.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2025

McCartney said confusion over the break-up had festered because the band's new manager Allen Klein - with whom he refused to align - said he had needed time to tie up some financial loose ends.

From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2024

Resentment festered in the meantime, as Bush and his peers questioned why the school hadn’t fought harder to defend him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2024

During that first summer and fall of sandy congestion and wind-blown boredom, the bitterness accumulated, the rage festered in hundreds of tarpapered cubicles like ours.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

As earnings season gets under way, festering worries about artificial-intelligence stocks could be put to bed.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

The subindex tracking service activity rose to 50.3 from April’s 49.6, while the construction subindex stood at 48.8, compared with 48.0 in the prior month as a festering property slump continued to weigh on growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

But with little progress on the issues festering and so much riding on their relationship, any reprieve could be temporary—and the space for surprises large.

From Barron's ● May 12, 2026

This has been a festering issue not only for the industry but also for consumers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026

It makes me happy in the festering city traffic, even when the lights are green and all the cars remain still.

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak