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Showing results for fester. Search instead for festeti.
Definitions

fester

[fes-ter] / ˈfɛs tər /
VERB
intensify; become inflamed
Synonyms
STRONGEST
smolder
STRONG
aggravate blister canker chafe decay gall gather irk maturate putrefy rankle rot suppurate ulcer ulcerate
Antonyms
STRONG
build delight flourish grow improve make happy please
WEAK
dissipate get better heal lessen

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.

Sweeping contentious issues under the rug and relegating them to wanton aggravation is one major way of letting these same topics fester.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

At the same time, those provisions do not align with other features of the student-loan system that can allow the debt to fester for decades.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 19, 2025

It was the most extreme expression of a wound to the body politic that has been allowed to fester.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025

For Congolese former deputy Enoch Ruberangabo, who comes from an ethnic Tutsi community in the restive east, Mobutu was a leader who "allowed community tensions to fester".

From Barron's • Nov. 13, 2025

He felt a deep love for the runaway boy, like a wound, and yet felt at the same time that this wound was not intended to fester in him, but that it should heal.

From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse