fester
to form pus; generate purulent matter; suppurate.
to cause ulceration, as a foreign body in the flesh.
to putrefy or rot.
to rankle, as a feeling of resentment.
to cause to rankle: Malice festered his spirit.
an ulcer; a rankling sore.
a small, purulent, superficial sore.
Origin of fester
1Other words from fester
- un·fes·tered, adjective
- un·fes·ter·ing, adjective
Words Nearby fester
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use fester in a sentence
We denied them loans, closed them off in housing projects, redlined their neighborhoods, and left them to fester.
I've tried to forget the grudges, the painful memories, the resentments I allowed to fester in my heart for so long.
How 'The Little Way of Ruthie Leming' Taught Me It's OK to Love My Hometown | Justin Green | April 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTLow-grade insurgencies fester in other states, notably among the Karen minority.
Obama Does Delicate Dance on Historic Visit to Burma | Lennox Samuels | November 19, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTBut they will leave the country rudderless, the victory will be hollow, and the problems will be left to fester.
Ryan Budget Plan Sounds Good But Lacks Substance | Zachary Karabell | August 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTJewish refugees were absorbed in Israel and the West; the Palestinians were left to fester in camps.
Several of my toes commenced to blacken and fester near the tips and the nails worked loose.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas MawsonThe wrong done the body politic may fester unseen, but it festers on all the same.
Only such carrion as this was left to fester upon the earth, to poison the lives of decent men and women.
A Sheaf of Corn | Mary E. MannThe enemies of their fellows are bred, not in deserts, but in cities, where human creatures fester together in heaps.
Impressions And Comments | Havelock EllisThere are words a man has no power or wish to say to a man, yet which must be spoken or they fester in his mind.
A Book o' Nine Tales. | Arlo Bates
British Dictionary definitions for fester
/ (ˈfɛstə) /
to form or cause to form pus
(intr) to become rotten; decay
to become or cause to become bitter, irritated, etc, esp over a long period of time; rankle: resentment festered his imagination
(intr) informal to be idle or inactive
a small ulcer or sore containing pus
Origin of fester
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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