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Definitions

fester

[fes-ter] / ˈfɛs tər /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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And in the absence of concrete details about the case, their suspicions are left to fester.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 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

She says she does her best to tell him that the system is cruel and wrong, but she doesn’t want the anger to fester.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026

“He said we can’t hide from our fears. We have to be able to talk about them, or else they’ll fester like poison, eating us from the inside.”

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

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

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

From New York Times ● May 5, 2023

“A reservoir of resentment grows and festers and it shatters the trust and confidence that members of the community have in law enforcement,” Armour said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2022

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

For years, he lived underground or festered in jail.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026

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

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 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

Instead the wound had festered, until Victarion began to wonder whether Serry’s blade had been poisoned.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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

At a recent meeting of Save Our Domes, a local environmental group, a member described the proposed mines as “equivalent to a huge festering boil on the face of a family member.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025

Hedda wears bullet-like strands of pearls that choke her neck and a jade-colored gown that seems to molder into a festering, jealous shade of green.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025

I lived carrying a huge wound, tender, festering, and I shrank when I came near anything that I thought would touch it.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright




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