as in to rot
to go through decomposition
a week after the battle the corpses of the fallen were still festering in the fields
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fester
K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2024
With less than four months until Election Day, the leading social media platforms appear resigned to let the status quo fester.
—Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, 15 July 2024
Dylan Scott, Vox, 6 Dec. 2024
These are problems that have festered for decades, and no one expects a quick turnaround, but after all of the promises and all the money invested, people are tired of waiting for clear signs of progress.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fester 
Noun
Read: Fear of a Black hobbit What makes Claudine worth watching 50 years later is the way Jones’s seductiveness is given room to fester.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2024
With less than four months until Election Day, the leading social media platforms appear resigned to let the status quo fester.
—Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, 15 July 2024
Verb
These issues were festering long before most of us were born.
—Dylan Scott, Vox, 6 Dec. 2024
These are problems that have festered for decades, and no one expects a quick turnaround, but after all of the promises and all the money invested, people are tired of waiting for clear signs of progress.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fester
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fester
Noun
-
Small blisters are called vesicles; bigger ones are called bullae.4 4.—
Christopher Bergland,
Verywell Health,
17 Jan. 2025
-
The flexible mesh material allows your foot to easily slide into the shoe and stretch, ensuring there’s no break-in period or painful blisters.—
Rylee Johnston,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The stinging in my eyeballs from sweat and sunscreen mixes with the unmistakable smell of rotting flesh.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
16 Jan. 2025
-
The bandit wheeled and snarled at Herod, exposing his rotting front teeth.—
Louis Menand,
The New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
BlackRock, which jumped 26% in 2024, has come off the boil this year — down about 2% year to date.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
17 Jan. 2025
-
To a medium pot over high heat, add the milk and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.—
Ryan McCarthy,
Saveur,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Several days later, the WinCo manager noticed a foul smell and called repairmen, who started removing bricks from a column outside the store and discovered a decomposing body.—
Keri Blakinger,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2025
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The Shrouds David Cronenberg’s body horror flick stars Vincent Cassel as Karsh, a businessman overwhelmed with grief at the death of his wife who builds a device — a high-tech shroud — to watch her body decompose in real-time.—
Etan Vlessing,
The Hollywood Reporter,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Plants with orange rust, identified by orange pustules on the leaves, must be burned or disposed of in the trash.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
20 Jan. 2025
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Along with his obesity amd high blood pressure, Henry suffered from painful venous leg ulcers that made his lower limbs swell, and pustules would burst.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
9 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Other groups disintegrated amid more prosaic conflicts over priorities and egos.—
Charles Homans,
New York Times,
19 Jan. 2025
-
The rocket system's upper stage appears to have disintegrated somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico or possibly the Caribbean Sea.—
Jason Abbruzzese,
NBC News,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Acne is one of the most common skincare conditions worldwide, and almost everyone develops a pimple at some point.—
Amanda Svachula,
Health,
13 Jan. 2025
-
In most cases, this petite gadget can clear up a pimple in three days.—
Emily Orofino,
Vogue,
12 Dec. 2024
Verb
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What doesn’t decay this winter can be mulched up next spring.—
Jeff Lowenfels,
Anchorage Daily News,
22 Sep. 2022
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In particular, many theorists have wondered how the great complexity of life can be reconciled with the laws of thermodynamics that suggest that all systems must inevitably decay to a state of greatest disorder.—
The Physics arXiv Blog,
Discover Magazine,
29 Apr. 2022
Thesaurus Entries Near fester
Cite this Entry
“Fester.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fester. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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