FESTERS Synonyms: 71 Similar and Opposite Words

festers 1 of 2

noun

plural of fester

as in boils

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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festers

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of fester

as in rots

to go through decomposition a week after the battle the corpses of the fallen were still festering in the fields

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 festers

Noun

What occurs over the course of the weekend is what happens as grief festers into rage. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 28 May 2026 Throughout this episode, Austin’s bitterness festers. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026 It festers as part of a long, continuous line. — Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Mar. 2026 When Trimmers fail to recognize this, evil festers. — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026 Steep declines in timber harvests, meant to save Oregon’s last ancient forests, ripped open an urban-rural divide that still festers. — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 20 Mar. 2026 Larger debate over the French retreat and the role of disease still festers, however. — Andrea Tamayo, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2025 South End residents and retailers said at a City Council hearing last Friday that businesses in Boston are being battered by shoplifting to feed the addiction that festers daily at the Mass and Cass drug market. — Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 21 Oct. 2025 Delay a tough conversation, and resentment festers. — Jason Richmond, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for festers

Noun

Capt Hirams Resort is now a hot spot for multiple events, such as live music, crab boils, shows, game nights, mystery nights, fishing tournaments and conferences about real treasure hunts off the nearby shores.

— USA TODAY NETWORK, USA Today, 29 July 2026
Watch for the popper to disappear like a bobber or keep an eye out for subtle boils around the lure.

— Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 23 July 2026

Definition of boils

Verb

Parents used to tell their children that television rots the brain; now it’s considered a medium for legitimate art.

— New York Times, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Training plants to stay off the ground instead of trailing prevents many common fungal diseases, fruit spots, and rots.

— Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 May 2026

Definition of rots

Noun

In animals, the bacterium causes pustules and lesions, predominantly in cattle, sheep, and horses.

— Helen Branswell, STAT, 11 May 2026
In fact, one of the most common triggers of rosacea, which is characterized by flushing, swelling, spider veins, papules, and pustules, is exposure to sunlight.

— Sherri Gordon, Health, 15 Sep. 2025

Definition of pustules

Verb

The research team enabled a room-temperature, four-electron chemical reaction path that forms and decomposes lithium oxide, which expands available energy storage.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 3 June 2026
Organic material trapped in reservoirs accumulates and decomposes over time, releasing methane — a potent greenhouse gas that significantly contributes to global warming, Fernández-Garrido told CNN.

— Radina Gigova, CNN Money, 27 May 2026

Definition of decomposes

Noun

In addition to being predominantly white, shoes with pimples around the outside of the toes are not permitted.

— Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026
Thabi Hlela of African Alabaster Botanical Skincare uses marula and shea butter in formulations that have cleared pimples and reversed early aging signs in customers who had tried pharmaceutical alternatives.

— Lisa Curtis, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026

Definition of pimples

Verb

Even those who can afford to stay suffer losses in home equity and lifestyle as the community around them disintegrates or disappears.

— The Conversation, Fortune, 12 June 2026
None are quite about the conflicting frames of reference and value that arise when an ancient cultural formation disintegrates and a successor has yet to take its place.

— Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026

Definition of disintegrates

Noun

The petition bumps the maximum age to take an entrance exam for the city’s police academy from 39 to 44 years old.

— Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 27 July 2026
Although not all Graco strollers have suspension systems, these tires do a decent job of absorbing bumps in the road so your little one will feel more comfortable.

— BestReviews, Mercury News, 24 July 2026

Definition of bumps

Verb

Control concentrated in one person dies with that person, decays with that person's judgment, and converts to cash the day that person takes a hard enough offer.

— Kyle Westaway, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Europe will not be able to defend itself militarily if democracy decays internally.

— Wendell Wallach, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026

Definition of decays

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“Festers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/festers. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of festers

noun

verb

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