fester

[fes-ter]

verb (used without object)

1. to form pus; generate purulent matter; suppurate.

2. to cause ulceration, as a foreign body in the flesh.

3. to putrefy or rot.

4. to rankle, as a feeling of resentment.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to rankle.

   Malice festered his spirit.

noun

1. an ulcer; a rankling sore.

2. a small, purulent, superficial sore.

fester

/ ˈfɛstə /

verb

1. to form or cause to form pus

2. (intr) to become rotten; decay

3. to become or cause to become bitter, irritated, etc, esp over a long period of time; rankle

   resentment festered his imagination

4. informal,  (intr) to be idle or inactive

noun

1. a small ulcer or sore containing pus

Other Word Forms

• unfestered adjective
• unfestering adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fester¹

1350–1400; (noun) Middle English festir, festre < Anglo-French, Old French festre < Latin fistula fistula (for -l- > -r- chapter ); (v.) Middle English festryn, derivative of the noun or < Old French festrir

Word History and Origins

Origin of fester¹

C13: from Old French festre suppurating sore, from Latin: _fistula

Example Sentences

But this issue has festered for years, and rather than point fingers, the district or the city, or both, need to do their jobs.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

What’s more, he vows to reopen an investigation into the death of Laius, the former leader who died 34 years ago under circumstances that have allowed rumor and innuendo to fester.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But the new strategy has been accompanied by hundreds of store closures, thousands of layoffs and the sale of a 60% stake in its China business, and labour tensions have continued to fester.

Read more on BBC

At a recent meeting of Save Our Domes, a local environmental group, a member described the proposed mines as “equivalent to a huge festering boil on the face of a family member.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

If doubts about private lenders continue to fester, pensions and other large institutional investors could become forced sellers of index funds to avoid realizing losses on their private-asset holdings.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• smolder