fester

To fester is defined as to become worse, to become infected or to rot.

(verb)

When food is left out in the sun for days to rot, this is an example of a time when the food festers.
When you have a problem with a friend and never talk it out but just get madder and madder, this is an example of a time when the problem festers.

See fester in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a small sore filled with pus; pustule

Origin: ME festre < OFr < L fistula: see fistula

intransitive verb

Origin: ME festren < the n.

transitive verb

See fester in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb fes·tered, fes·ter·ing, fes·ters

verb, intransitive

To generate pus; suppurate.
To form an ulcer.
To undergo decay; rot.
a. To be or become an increasing source of irritation or poisoning; rankle: bitterness that festered and grew.
b. To be subject to or exist in a condition of decline: allowed the once beautiful park to fester.

verb, transitive

To infect, inflame, or corrupt.

noun

A small festering sore or ulcer; a pustule.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English festren

Origin: , from festre, fistula

Origin: , from Old French

Origin: , from Latin fistula

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fester synonyms

fester medical definition