To save this word, you'll need to log in.
fes·ter·ing | \ ˈfe-st(ə-)riŋ 
\
\Definition of festering
1 : contaminated by an infective agent (such as a bacterium) and producing pus
a festering wound But if the patient can manage it, the whirlpool is a dandy way to handle festering bedsores.— Paul G. Donohue
2a : persisting and growing increasingly bitter over time
festering resentment … comedy that comes from a pit of festering hatred …— Robert Brustein
b : persistently producing bad or unhealthy effects
Four hundred yards to the west, between the schoolhouse and the mountain, lay a festering center of sin, a bootleg whiskey still operated by the celebrated anti-Prohibition guerilla Sam Reever.— Russell Baker
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on festering
What made you want to look up festering? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
More Confusing Words—Quiz
- The magician
______moved the selected card to the top of the deck.
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
- More Confusing Words—Quiz
How many of these commonly confused words do you know?
Take the quiz - Name that Thing: Toys and Games Edition
It's all fun and games until someone beats your high score.
Take the quiz - Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz - Syn City
Build a city of skyscrapers—one synonym at a time.
Play the game
Share festering
Time Traveler for festering
The first known use of festering was in 1576
See more words from the same year