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Definitions

fester

[fes-ter] / ˈfɛs tər /


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.

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And in the absence of concrete details about the case, their suspicions are left to fester.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 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

Salim says that both show the dangers of allowing pride to fester and swell unchecked.

From Salon ● Jun. 21, 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

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

Below us Toronto festers in the evening heat, the trees spreading like worn moss, the lake zinc in the distance.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

But an uneasy tension festered behind the fanfare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 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

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

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

I felt like something ill was festering in my stomach, and my head felt like a piñata stuffed with cotton balls.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall


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