FESTER Synonyms: 71 Similar and Opposite Words

fester 1 of 2

verb

ˈfe-stər

Definition of fester

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fester

2 of 2

noun

as in blister

a small, inflamed swelling of the skin pus oozed out of the fester

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of fester

Verb

After a week, many of them developed festering sores on their arms, legs, and hands. — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 If someone doesn’t feel comfortable doing so, the issue will only fester and complicate future efforts. — Gary Zammit, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 In response to angry, sometimes mocking, questions from Republican senators, Fauci declined to answer more than 100 times, injecting new drama into partisan divides that have festered for years about the origins and handling of the pandemic. — Lauran Neergaard, Fortune, 29 July 2026 The conditions that allowed MAHA to flourish—the trust deficit, the corporate entanglements, the gap between research and community, the invisibility of public health in people’s daily lives—have been festering for decades. — Craig Spencer, The Atlantic, 25 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for fester

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fester

Verb

And speaking of resisting the robots, Joshua Rothman has put together a techy gift guide of gadgets and gizmos that won’t rot brains.

— Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2026
The former may be a cesspool that rots our brains and amplifies ethnic hatred, but its dangers don’t compare to the dangers of RSI.

— Sigal Samuel, Vox, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of rot

Verb

The body of 76-year-old Ronald Tyler was already decomposing by the time his daughter Terri found out where he was being stored.

— Dave Savini, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
The coins were originally buried together in a container made of organic material that has since decomposed, archaeologists believe.

— Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of decompose

Noun

Pham also spent several decades in New Orleans and operated a seafood boil restaurant in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 27 Oct. 2026
Refueling on this scale has never been done before, and the company needs to get data on the efficiency of such transfers and the rate of boil-off of liquid oxygen and methane in space.

— Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of boil

Verb

With each impact, Sarah’s face disintegrates into a bloodier pulp, her bone structure buckling under every successive thud until Nikki has finally and irrevocably rendered the character a faceless corpse.

— Chris Lee, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
The space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry because of a piece of foam that the astronaut estimates might have weighed about as much as a Styrofoam container.

— Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of disintegrate

Noun

The infected children reported a range of skin and soft tissue symptoms, including spots, pustules, blisters, and abscesses.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
This causes small but often painful red pustules that cluster at the places where the hairstyle is pulling the tightest.

— Ayren Jackson-Cannady, Allure, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of pustule

Verb

In large computations, many qubits must wait between operations, during which their quantum states can decay.

— Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026
According to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, dead, diseased and decaying trees will be removed during the evening and overnights hours to ensure public safety.

— Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of decay

Noun

Rhode, on the other hand, has created pimple patches with Justin Bieber but hasn’t made a collaborative collection with a fashion brand as of yet.

— Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
As a teenager, Gillian Maegan Montalbo had pimples that weren’t too bad — just a few bumps on her forehead and nose.

— Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of pimple

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fest

fester

festered

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“Fester.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fester. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of fester

verb

noun

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