fester

[ fes-ter ]

See synonyms for: fester festered festering on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

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.

verb (used with object)

to cause to rankle: Malice festered his spirit.

noun

an ulcer; a rankling sore.
a small, purulent, superficial sore.

Origin of fester

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

Other 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.
The Flaw in My Brother’s Keeper | Jamelle Bouie | February 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
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 BEAST
Low-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 BEAST
But 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 BEAST
Jewish refugees were absorbed in Israel and the West; the Palestinians were left to fester in camps.
Denigrating Jewish Refugees | Lyn Julius | August 9, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST

Several of my toes commenced to blacken and fester near the tips and the nails worked loose.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
The wrong done the body politic may fester unseen, but it festers on all the same.
Belford's Magazine, Vol. II, No. 3, February 1889 | Various
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. Mann
The enemies of their fellows are bred, not in deserts, but in cities, where human creatures fester together in heaps.
Impressions And Comments | Havelock Ellis
There 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

fester

/ (ˈfɛstə) /

verb

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

noun

a small ulcer or sore containing pus

Origin of fester

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

Collins 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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