Synonyms of festered

festered

verb

past tense of fester

as in decomposed

to go through decomposition

a week after the battle the corpses of the fallen were still festering in the fields

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decomposed
• disintegrated
• rotted
• decayed
• perished
• molded
• corrupted
• deteriorated
• moldered
• spoiled
• putrefied
• descended
• fell apart
• crumbled
• soured
• fouled
• turned
• broke down
• contaminated
• polluted
• tainted
• rusted
• fermented
• went to seed
• defiled
• curdled
• degenerated
• addled
• mortified
• withered
• sank
• turned off
• dilapidated
• declined

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• developed
• grew
• matured
• aged
• ripened
• restored
• renewed
• refreshed
• purified
• cleansed
• improved
• composed
• integrated
• assembled
• ameliorated
• bettered
• meliorated

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of festered

Tensions between the two Democrats have festered since the primary. — ABC News, 1 Nov. 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

Forest, who had qualified for the Conference League, took their place, and resentment has festered. — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 1 July 2026

As the police department’s ranks shrank, crime festered, both aboveground and below. — Kevin Lozano, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026

The bad blood that had festered between the two competitors came to a boiling point. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2026

For years, this debate between stricter codes and affordable housing festered behind the scenes, including at the obscure International Code Council, which brings together government officials, contractors, appliance makers and others to lay the groundwork for model codes. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026

Here, according to the MAGA universe, festered the deep state. — David Blumenthal, STAT, 24 Mar. 2026

And, yet, concerns festered all the same. — Noah Furtado, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Feb. 2026