1(of a wound or sore) become septic; suppurate.

1. 1.1 (of food or rubbish) become rotten and offensive to the senses.
   piles of mouldy grey paper festered by the sink

   Example sentencesExamples

   • I couldn't even see a collection of mouldy teacups festering on the new wooden floor.
   • Every year, this mountain of festering garbage gets bigger.
   • Away from the gleaming skyscrapers, China's cities are ringed by run-down shacks, with festering heaps of garbage by the roadside.
   • But for almost a month now it's been covered with these festering piles of garbage.
   • It was populated by festering drifts of trash, with large dumpsters rising out of the junk like weird islands, and a few old-fashioned tin trashcans here and there.
   • You and your friends may not mind empties on the counter, pizza boxes growing mould and dishes festering in the kitchen and bathroom sinks and of course the bathtub, but it may be hazardous to your health.
   • Papers were still in their racks, teas and coffees festered on the bar.
   • I stashed my shoes in the cubicles outside; in a Japanese bathhouse, street shoes are regarded with a disdain reserved in the West for biological refuse or festering rubbish.
   • Fears about festering bags of rubbish behind the store and an increase in traffic in the quiet cul-de-sac are the main reasons for the objection.
   • I clasped my nose shut with my fingers and tried to breathe through my mouth, but the smell of rotten eggs and festering garbage was so awful I gave up, and jabbed the button to open the doors in sheer desperation.
   • Tony Millard, who owns Tone's Bar in London Road, North Cheam, told the Comet huge piles of festering rubbish were building up behind his bar each week because the council had not provided enough waste bins.
   • That could mean only one thing; a cruddy cream doughnut festering beneath the surface.
   • She lifts up the gray carpet and finds the steak, festering away.
   • Plates of baked beans on toast were festering near piles of unfinished homework on the dust covered desk.
   • I looked in the sink the next day and here's this festering pile of mince meat.
   • I can assure readers that a piece of spaghetti that has festered in the bottom of a sink for 24 hours looks much the same.
   • The uneven pavement was constructed of badly cracked flagstones and potholed by menacing holes where black water festered from past rain showers.
   • For most of us, checking labels is a thing we do before we throw out food that has been festering in the kitchen, long past its sell-by-date.
   • Weeks after the grand fête, the garbage generated festers in an illegal dump strewn along the Troumassee river bank.
   • I tipped my chair backwards so that I could dump my pan onto the pile of dishes festering in the sink.

   Synonyms

   rot, moulder, decay, decompose, putrefy, go bad, go off, perish, spoil, deteriorate, disintegrate, degrade, break down, break up

   technical mortify, necrotize

   archaic corrupt
2. 1.2 (of a negative feeling or a problem) become worse or more intense, especially through long-term neglect or indifference.
   below the surface, the old antagonisms festered

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Yet, dismayingly, the Government retracted many of these commitments this week - and the numbers problem festers on.
   • But by ignoring the problems now festering in the heartland, Congress and the White House will end up diluting the fiscal stimulus over which they are battling so hard.
   • But the longer the recovery lasted, the more the problems festered.
   • Sinclair's likely departure will raise further questions about how last week's shake-up was handled and what long-term dissatisfaction may fester among others who lost out.
   • But why has the Lebanese government let this problem fester?
   • The threat may ultimately have less to do with competitive fire than with a readiness to let resentments fester and anger flare without feeling any need to bridle emotions or discipline his temper.
   • Their feelings festered until, six years later, it blew up spectacularly before the World Cup.
   • Which is to say, the problem has festered for so long that it is big, and effective responses won't be cheap in the short run.
   • While she battles the terrorist monsters, economic problems have festered.
   • Social problems have festered, as reflected in the 45 million Americans without health insurance, the decay of the public schools and the growth of hunger and homelessness.
   • Peace throughout the region will never exist while the Palestinian problem festers.
   • And while the Fed bides time, the problem only festers.
   • It merely bought time, while problems festered and ideologies of violence took hold.
   • Or is it more likely a case of increased recognition of the harsh reality that acute financial problems are festering beneath the surface of the U.S. and global Credit systems?
   • I think I am going to let the problem fester until then.
   • For three days Charles remained locked up, his feelings festering and burning inside him.
   • Nevertheless, to ensure that there are no problems still festering, it is our intention to carry out a final audit of the equipment prior to expiry of the warranty agreement.
   • After a six-week period, during which the problem simply festered, the company brought in a crew of scab miners.
   • Despite these benefits, numerous problems festered beneath the surface.
   • Without freedom of the press, such problems will only fester, and that is not in the long-term interest of the United States.

   Synonyms

   rankle, chafe, gnaw (at one's mind), eat away at one's mind, ferment, brew, smoulder

   cause bitterness, cause resentment, cause vexation, cause annoyance
3. 1.3 (of a person) deteriorate physically and mentally in isolated inactivity.
   remand prisoners are left to fester in our jails while they wait for trial

   Example sentencesExamples

   • In fact the evidence hints that they are as coolly fuzzy as ever, bands like this don't go away they just fester and get better in the process.
   • The US then installed and consistently backed the Shah, who proceeded to abuse systematically human rights, to suppress all political activity and to enrich his cronies while his people festered in sprawling urban slums.
   • It has been more than a month since that half-point loss to the league's top team, and you're still festering.
   • If they had listened to the opponents of the war, they would still be festering in that shack.