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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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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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

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 Beneath all the splendor, the couture, the balls, and the opera lurked an undercurrent of hatred, one that would fester and erupt in ways both insidious and catastrophic. — Literary Hub, 17 July 2026 Forest, who had qualified for the Conference League, took their place, and resentment has festered. — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 1 July 2026 And what that means is that festering problems are postponed. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 16 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for fester

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fester

Verb

City leaders have accused Lineage, whose warehouse in Boyle Heights was destroyed by fire, of blowing past the city’s 45-day deadline for removing millions of pounds of rotting food from its property.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026
Too thick a mulch layer can cause these normally smaller plants to remain wet and rot.

— Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of rot

Verb

The study hypothesized that the sickle was added before the body fully decomposed since no joints were detached or displaced, as archaeologists would expect if a grave were to be disturbed after the body became a skeleton.

— Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
Agents plan and reason, decompose goals into steps, call external tools and iterate without being prompted at each turn.

— Hemant Kashyap, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of decompose

Noun

While water service was restored to customers in Pāhala, a boil water notice was issued out of an abundance of caution.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
In January, potential jurors waited downstairs of the Orange County Courthouse as tensions came to a boil between Edgar and his attorney after Edgar wrote a letter to the judge alleging Barrett refused to explore an insanity defense.

— Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of boil

Verb

Just seconds later, in a separate incident, the Brazilian F50 was about to go into a standard jibe maneuver (turning the boat through the wind to change direction) but disintegrated in the blink of an eye.

— Andrew Rice, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Tim Graham/Getty Images Most Popular Nader’s empire quickly disintegrated into chaos.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of disintegrate

Verb

Researchers can look for this signal by measuring the average vertical direction of the positrons produced when the muons decay.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026
The new owners took over the keys to a tired and decaying club in the spring and have since overseen a summer renovation that has stretched from assembling a new first-team squad to restoring hot water to Hillsborough.

— Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of decay

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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 23 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of fester

verb

noun

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