fester

It’s better to get a baseline as to where your balance stands — and strengthen it, as needed — than let an unknown problem fester and progress.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Given your reaction, I don’t believe it’s a good idea to let this fester.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

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

Salim says that both show the dangers of allowing pride to fester and swell unchecked.

From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026

His father knew every place in the boy where a word would fester.

From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck

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

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

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

This zinging back-and-forth is also in evidence in the film, in which these sisters metaphorically tear each other apart and then try to heal the wounds that have festered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2024

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

However few people can successfully demonstrate a principle in common ethics when their deliberation is festered with emotionalism.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

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

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 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

Behind Altman’s “code red” declaration, however, are tensions between camps inside the company that have been festering for years, according to people familiar with the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025

But if you weren’t, you might look in the mirror and think, I did not know that mole was so enormous or Why is my face festering?

From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu