as in to rot
to go through decomposition
a week after the battle the corpses of the fallen were still festering in the fields
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Recent Examples of fester
Peter Debruge, Variety, 26 Jan. 2026
There was the diabetic afraid to pick up insulin, the patient with a treatable wound that festered and required a trip to the intensive care unit, and the hospital staffers — from Latin America, Somalia, Myanmar and elsewhere — too scared to come to work.
—Tim Sullivan, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
There was the diabetic afraid to pick up insulin, the patient with a treatable wound that festered and required a trip to the intensive care unit, and the hospital staffers — from Latin America, Somalia, Myanmar and elsewhere — too scared to come to work.
—Tim Sullivan, Twin Cities, 20 Jan. 2026
Complaints about the shelter showed that problems have festered for years, reaching a breaking point after a rise in animal deaths led the agency to lose its no-kill status and city officials to call for an audit.
—Devan Patel, Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fester
Verb
Clearly looking to shock, Raimi depicts bodily injury in oozing detail, whether that means thrusting the camera into Bradley’s festering leg wound or watching one of the pair plunge their thumb into the eye socket of the other.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 26 Jan. 2026
There was the diabetic afraid to pick up insulin, the patient with a treatable wound that festered and required a trip to the intensive care unit, and the hospital staffers — from Latin America, Somalia, Myanmar and elsewhere — too scared to come to work.
—Tim Sullivan, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
There was the diabetic afraid to pick up insulin, the patient with a treatable wound that festered and required a trip to the intensive care unit, and the hospital staffers — from Latin America, Somalia, Myanmar and elsewhere — too scared to come to work.
—Tim Sullivan, Twin Cities, 20 Jan. 2026
Complaints about the shelter showed that problems have festered for years, reaching a breaking point after a rise in animal deaths led the agency to lose its no-kill status and city officials to call for an audit.
—Devan Patel, Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fester
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fester
Verb
-
Tubers with healthy shoots get a head start on the growing process and are less likely to rot in the ground.—
Sheryl Geerts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Feb. 2026
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Of the millions of mattresses discarded each year globally, only a small fraction is ever recycled, leaving the vast majority to rot in overstuffed landfills.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Look for cushioning in the shin, ankle, and toe box areas specifically, as this is where an unforgiving ski boot can batter, blister, and bruise you.—
Jonathan Thompson,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The couples received blister wounds on their forearms — and then were divided into four groups.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Funk assures that the softened, decomposing cardboard will allow plants to grow through.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Jon Hallford, a southern Colorado funeral home owner who stashed nearly 200 decomposing bodies and gave families fake ashes, was sentenced on state charges on Friday.—
Maria Braganini,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The break comes just days after a boil order was lifted due to a separate water main break in the village earlier this week.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Stir in the stock and tomato paste, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Generational lies begin to unravel, and the fabric of this family slowly begins to disintegrate.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
5 Feb. 2026
-
This vacuum was meant to prevent the tungsten filament––that’s the little wire inside the bulb, the thing that glows––from burning up and disintegrating immediately, which is what a very hot piece of metal would do in the presence of oxygen.—
Natalia Sánchez Loayza,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Spoiler alert: The monster is definitely real, a lion-bear hybrid covered in disgusting bloody pustules.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
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In fact, one of the most common triggers of rosacea, which is characterized by flushing, swelling, spider veins, papules, and pustules, is exposure to sunlight.—
Sherri Gordon,
Health,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
About 10 percent of the county’s waste is green material, which includes decaying trees and invasive plants.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
7 Feb. 2026
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Not only does topping a crape myrtle turn it into an eyesore, but these brutal pruning cuts can cause disease and decay to set into the wood.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Bioré is putting pimples in the penalty box this basketball season.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
29 Jan. 2026
-
My features were regular, barely changed from childhood except for a pimple above my lip.—
Nell Freudenberger,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fester.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fester. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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