as in decomposition
the process by which dead organic matter separates into simpler substances
the ghastly festering of the corpses abandoned on the battlefield
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in rotting
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
as in bleeding
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Recent Examples of festering
Popular Mechanics, 14 Apr. 2023
For the moment at least, embassies remain open in both capitals despite a festering but unrelated diplomatic spat that has seen the two sides expel dozens of diplomats since 2017.
—chicagotribune.com, 3 Mar. 2022
Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
Instead, what has become a festering problem for the Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder came up yet again.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
Is corruption festering in the apparently homogeneous suburb?
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025
Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
Pluribus is as dry, ironic, brutal, and alert to the horrors festering in no small number of human souls as anything he’s made.
—Judy Berman, Time, 27 Oct. 2025
In fact, that problem is festering.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025
Without nerve sensation, the patients weren’t aware of festering ulcers and infections, which therefore went untreated until amputation was the only option.
—Carrie Arnold, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
The sensational turn in the case fueled breathless news coverage as the public became hungry for any revelation about the brothers’ motives or the dark secrets that had been festering inside the Menendez family home.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025
There have been problems festering — especially with a lackluster, inefficient offense.
—Zach Berman, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
But for many in the Jewish community the attack, which also left three people injured, was the culmination of something that had been festering for some time.
—Alex Holmes, NBC news, 3 Oct. 2025
Now a Congressman, state officials, and families are demanding accountability and bringing legal actions, saying that Roblox has allowed its platform to become a festering hub for horrific child exploitation.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
Adding to the festering sense of uncertainty about the enterprise is the principal characters’ embrace of the supernatural.
—Popular Mechanics, 14 Apr. 2023
For the moment at least, embassies remain open in both capitals despite a festering but unrelated diplomatic spat that has seen the two sides expel dozens of diplomats since 2017.
—chicagotribune.com, 3 Mar. 2022
Verb
Either there will be sunlight or a scandal that keeps festering.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
Instead, what has become a festering problem for the Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder came up yet again.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
Is corruption festering in the apparently homogeneous suburb?
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
There were festering family vendettas; botched forensics; staggering police failings.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
Pluribus is as dry, ironic, brutal, and alert to the horrors festering in no small number of human souls as anything he’s made.
—Judy Berman, Time, 27 Oct. 2025
In fact, that problem is festering.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025
Without nerve sensation, the patients weren’t aware of festering ulcers and infections, which therefore went untreated until amputation was the only option.
—Carrie Arnold, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
The sensational turn in the case fueled breathless news coverage as the public became hungry for any revelation about the brothers’ motives or the dark secrets that had been festering inside the Menendez family home.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025
There have been problems festering — especially with a lackluster, inefficient offense.
—Zach Berman, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
But for many in the Jewish community the attack, which also left three people injured, was the culmination of something that had been festering for some time.
—Alex Holmes, NBC news, 3 Oct. 2025
Now a Congressman, state officials, and families are demanding accountability and bringing legal actions, saying that Roblox has allowed its platform to become a festering hub for horrific child exploitation.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for festering
Noun
-
Based on the level of decomposition, officials estimated she had been dumped from the overpass at least a month earlier, according to the release.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Before storing the bodies in the crawl space, Gacy used lime to hasten the bodies' decomposition.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The rotting corpse flower’s putrid stench cast a spell Thursday across Roseville High School’s campus.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Churches, libraries, and houses stand splintered and rotting next to posh tourist resorts, the aftermath of 2017’s Hurricane Maria.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Despite years of legal battles over the relocations, more than 150,000 bodies were exhumed from the 1920s to the early 1940s for the trip to Colma, each in various stages of decay.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Why didn’t evolution produce a more dependable version of the human body, less prone to malfunction and decay?—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Bugs and scientists have long been oddball allies in the effort to understand decomposing bodies, but there's a catch.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The round spots seemed neat compared with their surroundings, clear of the layers of decomposing plankton spotted elsewhere on the seafloor.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Please tell me the sequel could answer the most burning question of the ’00s: How could Austin not recognize Sam in that mask?—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Cooper, 30, asked Hargitay one more burning question about the actors' on-screen alter egos: will Olivia and Elliot ever end up together?—
Victoria Edel,
People.com,
26 June 2025
Noun
-
Turns out, LLMs get brain rot, too.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Oct. 2025
-
These sections root the story’s cosmic dread in America’s historical rot, and the Muschiettis, Fuchs, and Kane envision a three-season project around this material, each set in a different era.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Mia Wasikowska plays Edith, an heiress who marries a seductive baron, Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), and moves into his enormous, decaying mansion — which is also inhabited by Thomas' enigmatic sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain).—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Oct. 2025
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What Pasolini wants is to turn this decaying palazzo into the Château de Silling, the house in which Sade’s libertines conduct their atrocious experiments.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Dickinson, who already missed three games this season with the same nagging injury, is questionable for Saturday’s game against Edmonton, Blashill said.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
-
McLaurin missed each of Washington's last four games after suffering a quad injury in a Week 3 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, and Samuel was ruled out for Sunday's Week 7 loss to the Cowboys with a nagging heel injury.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Festering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/festering. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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