fester

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

In April, the government shared their update of the Women's Health Strategy, when Health Secretary Wes Streeting said they wanted to "dismantle the culture and ingrained behaviours that allow medical misogyny to fester and grow".

From BBC ● May 11, 2026

As Cicero explains showily, he himself hesitates to directly order the banishment—because then, he says, not only would he appear cruel and tyrannical but Catiline’s coconspirators would still fester in the heart of the city.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

By your early 70s, the anxiety festers and grows.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026

They allow listeners to call or text questions on WhatsApp, a social media platform especially popular with immigrant communities but where much of the misinformation they see festers.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 7, 2024

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

“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 “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

For years, he lived underground or festered in jail.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026

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

Something foul grew in the waters here, and festered in the air.

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

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

Such incidents have resurfaced the Indonesian public’s festering distrust of the police force, said Jacqui Baker, a scholar of Indonesian security and policing at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025

"I think that's always a big festering ground for horror to make statements," she says.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2025

The Allies’ insistence that Germany pay billions in war reparations was a source of festering resentment.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman