fester

Psychiatric researchers are referring to the confluence of three characteristics—sycophancy, linguistic alignment and hyperpersonalization—as the “amplification spiral,” suggesting it’s the mechanism by which delusional thinking can fester.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

In the San Fernando Valley case, Internal Affairs investigators reported turning up an “overwhelming pattern of intentional policy violations” by the officers involved, and said poor management allowed a “rampant culture of misconduct” to fester.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

"I think for everybody there was an element of it was going to happen because antisemitism has been allowed to grow and fester and become normalised," Finlay said.

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 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

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

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026

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

Given the heavy rainfall and nonporous soil, the waste festers, exposing residents to health risks.

From New York Times ● May 5, 2023

Journalists who joined the patrol also witnessed what life has been like for the Philippine Coast Guard as the South China Sea dispute festers.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2023

Now everything resonates, sticks like a splinter, festers.

From "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour

But an uneasy tension festered behind the fanfare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

But the chaos Yoon unleashed that night has festered.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2025

“We’ve been grinding hard, but it’s just a disappointing factor that others waited too long to do something about it, you know? That’s why it’s festered into this,” Hernandez said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2024

Wilson’s lead is a working-class Black man, a former Negro league superstar whose dreams festered when baseball’s color barrier prevented him from rising into the big leagues.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2024

Wounds festered and got infected at lightning speed in the damp heat.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

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

The insanity of investing in a new playground when a dozen festering issues make the park unsafe should be crystal clear to one and all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026

He could feel its festering sap in every fiber of him.

From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye