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 these 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. 27, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

Shattered legs may heal in time, but some betrayals fester and poison the soul.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

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

The current generation of players have decided now is the time to act on a disagreement that has festered for much of the past two decades.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

But an uneasy tension festered behind the fanfare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 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

I hoped it would blow over, but Dad was so hurt that I hadn’t mentioned homeschooling in my interviews that this new wound festered.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

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

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

This lends an intriguing additional layer to Iago’s festering, consuming hatred: Even his own wife is a potential rival, in addition to, he believes, having slept with Othello.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 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

Ray’s mysterious and fraught history as a member of the British military during the Troubles is a festering boil this film will eventually lance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025

Stale and wilted flowers, rejected downtown, blazed feverishly on a cart, like glamorous rags festering beneath a futile spray from a punctured fruit juice can.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison