as in decomposed
to go through decomposition
a week after the battle the corpses of the fallen were still festering in the fields
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Recent Examples of festered
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
The controversy stretches back years, but festered under ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was in office from 2018-2024.
—ABC News, 27 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
The bad blood festered for months.
—Chris McKenna, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Internal tension about direction and leadership succession festered within the firm.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026
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
The controversy stretches back years, but festered under ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was in office from 2018-2024.
—ABC News, 27 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
The bad blood festered for months.
—Chris McKenna, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Internal tension about direction and leadership succession festered within the firm.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for festered
Verb
-
There have been in-kind donations, and the city has contributed materials such as gravel and decomposed granite for walking paths.—
Caron Golden,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 May 2026
-
Biodegradable waste consists of organic materials, such as food scraps, vegetable peels, paper, leaves, and agricultural residues, that can be decomposed naturally through microbial processes.—
Aman Kumar,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Blaine is disintegrated, while Sam is clearly changed.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 May 2026
-
Late Saturday, rescue crews were trying to determine whether the ValuJet aircraft disintegrated on impact or partially lodged itself in the soft, marshy terrain of the Everglades.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Now the pages are yellowed; the rubber band rotted away years ago.—
Peter Hessler,
New Yorker,
31 May 2026
-
Pots simmered on the stove with paella, fruit rotted in bowls next to the junk mail, and the pantry was full of old rusted cans of strange unearthly edibles—bamboo shoots and snails in sauce and lemons floating in brine.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
But since sitting vacant, the property has decayed and listed in city property records as unoccupiable.—
Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez,
Charlotte Observer,
18 May 2026
-
And what with all the love and pain, something in me softened—or maybe decayed.—
Eva Wiseman,
Vogue,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Festered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/festered. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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