fester

American  

[fes-ter] / ˈfɛs tər /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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noun

1. a small ulcer or sore containing pus

Other Word Forms

• unfestered adjective
• unfestering adjective

Etymology

Origin of fester

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

Example Sentences

At the same time, those provisions do not align with other features of the student-loan system that can allow the debt to fester for decades.

From MarketWatch

At the same time, those provisions do not align with other features of the student-loan system that can allow the debt to fester for decades.

From MarketWatch

The Jewish community has warned time and again that when hatred is allowed to fester, when it is excused, normalized or mainstreamed, it inevitably leads to violence.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We saw the police stand by and do nothing and, sadly, we've seen that from that moment on hate was allowed to fester."

From Barron's

It was the most extreme expression of a wound to the body politic that has been allowed to fester.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• smolder