fester

That leaves officials worrying about moving too slowly and letting inflation fester or moving too quickly and setting off a rout that slows the economy more than they may want.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2026

"As a man you could just bottle it up... it will fester and grow and it can very quickly turn very, very dark," he says.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

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

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

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

With no immediate help from officers, the fear and anxiety festers inside you.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2025

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

Lagarde set out to heal internal rifts among the ECB’s governing council that had festered under Draghi’s authoritative leadership.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

The problem only festered further under Lincoln Riley, as the coach initially cast a wider net nationally, aiming for top prospects in states like Texas and Florida while local stars signed and shined elsewhere.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

Peace proposals and presidents have come and gone but the problems have festered.

From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2025

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

These two groups were obliged to work side by side in the war plants, and their animosities festered and opened like boils on the face of the city.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

One had a festering cut on his shin that he said he got from a fall on the rocks near the beach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

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

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

Red cloths were hung up upon their doors to mark their festering and convalescence.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson