fester

We start talking about relationships and unhealthy withdrawal and letting things fester to the point that when the emotions come out, it feels abrupt and the other person has no idea what’s going on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

And over six seasons, the series examined the under-explored territory that lay between two world wars—a kind of historical trench in which all manner of skullduggery could fester and bloom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026

Her skirt caught the cool evening wind, which tugged her away even fester.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

However, momentum has been lost and the danger is that the problem now just festers for days, months or even years.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

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

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

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

From BBC ● Feb. 5, 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

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

His arms, poisoned by the sap, had festered and were seeping, swollen, and hot.

From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry

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

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

Mountains of festering trash blight the streets of the capital, as dump trucks don’t have fuel to pick up the waste.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 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

I don’t think he was listening, just festering.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri