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
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
There was the diabetic afraid to pick up insulin, the patient with a treatable wound that festered and required a trip to the intensive care unit, and the hospital staffers — from Latin America, Somalia, Myanmar and elsewhere — too scared to come to work.
—Tim Sullivan, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
There was the diabetic afraid to pick up insulin, the patient with a treatable wound that festered and required a trip to the intensive care unit, and the hospital staffers — from Latin America, Somalia, Myanmar and elsewhere — too scared to come to work.
—Tim Sullivan, Twin Cities, 20 Jan. 2026
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
There was the diabetic afraid to pick up insulin, the patient with a treatable wound that festered and required a trip to the intensive care unit, and the hospital staffers — from Latin America, Somalia, Myanmar and elsewhere — too scared to come to work.
—Tim Sullivan, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
There was the diabetic afraid to pick up insulin, the patient with a treatable wound that festered and required a trip to the intensive care unit, and the hospital staffers — from Latin America, Somalia, Myanmar and elsewhere — too scared to come to work.
—Tim Sullivan, Twin Cities, 20 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for festered
Verb
-
Her body was so badly decomposed; no DNA swab could be taken.—
Mary Murphy,
CBS News,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The body was decomposed and dismembered.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
The car completely disintegrated, damaging several other vehicles.—
Jessica Riley,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That last line is a nod for the brain-rotted among us.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Uncollected garbage rotted in heaps, and people cued outside of bakeries for their daily government ration of bread.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Some decayed quickly, effectively disappearing without having done much harm.—
Eduardo B. Farfán,
The Conversation,
21 Apr. 2026
-
It was revealed in court that the beech tree at the center of the incident had decayed prior to the branch falling, according to the Evening News and BBC.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Festered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/festered. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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